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FUNERAL  SERMONS 


BY 


LUTHERAN  DIVINES 


COLLECTED  AND  EDITED 


BY 


REV.   L.  H.  SCHUH,  Ph.  D, 


COLUMBUS,  OHIO 

LUTHERAN  BOOK  CONCERN 

1918 


Part  I 


INDEX— PART  I 


Text 

Matt.  18:   14 
II  Tim.  3:  14,15 
Gen.  45:  5 

II  Kings  4:  26 

Mark  10:   13-16 
Matt.  18:  6 
Mark  10:  13,  14 
II  Kings  4:  26 

John  13:  7 

Matt.  9:  24 
IJohn4:  16 
John  4:  46-53 
Isaiah  40:    11 
Gen.  37:  34-36 


Occasion 

For  an  unbaptized  child 

For  an  especially  pious  child- 
For  a  young  child  which  died 

shortly  after  baptism 

At  the  funeral  of  a  six-year- 
old  girl   

For  a  child 

For  a  child 

For  an  only  child  of  Christian 

parents    

Memorial  service  for  a  boy — 

an  only  child , — 

For  a  child 

For  a  child 

On  the  death  of  a  child 

For  a  child 

For  a  child 


Author  Page 
Rev.  Prof.  B.  C.  H.  Lenski  3 
Rev.  W.  E.  Tressel 8 

R«v.  Prof.  C.  B.  Gohdes—  15 

Rev.  Prof.  J.  N.  Kildahl.  23 
R«v.  F.  W.  Steinhaeuser-  30 
Rev.  G.  J.  Troutman 38 


Rev.  J.  W.  Schillinger    __  43 

Rev.L.  H.  Schuh 50 

Rev.  G.  J.  Gongoware 59 

Rev.  W.  E.  Schramm 67 

Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 86 

Rev.  M.  R.  Walter 79 

Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 71 


GOD'S  WILL  FOR  OUR  LITTLE  ONES 
By  Rev.  Prof.  R.  C.  H.  LensM,  D.  D. 

"Even  so  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  that 
one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish." — Matt.  18:  14. 

Occasion:  For  an  Unbaptized  Child* 

Dear  Parents  and  Friends: 

Our  life  and  light  is  God's  precious  Word.  This  guides  and 
keeps  us  in  days  that  are  fair,  this  comforts  and  supports  us  in 
days  that  are  dark.  When  bereavement  and  grief  appear,  we 
seek  out  God's  Word.  When  perplexing  questions  make  this 
grief  harder  to  bear,  we  the  more  earnestly  scan  the  sacred 
pages.     So  now. 

This  little  babe,  born  but  a  few  days  ago,  has  already  been 
stricken  with  death.  Unexpectedly,  in  a  way  no  one  thought, 
the  calamity  befell.  That  in  itself  is  grief  enough.  But  for  your 
Christian  hearts  there  is  a  pang  especially  bitter  in  that  your 
little  one  expired  without  the  blessing  of  holy  Baptism.  Before 
you  could  carry  out  this  your  sacred  duty,  the  little  spark  of 
life  went,  and  you  are  wounded  now  with  what  I  may  call  a 
double  blow. 

There  are  some,  of  course,  who  would  pass  lightly  over  the 
absence  of  the  holy  sacrament,  because  they  think  it  a  mere 
ordinance  or  outward  ceremony,  conveying  no  spiritual  benefit 
to  a  little  babe.     The  comfort  they  would  offer  is  one  that  we 


*A  child  may  die  without  Baptism  through  no  fault  of  its  parents; 
again,  there  may  be  neglect,  carelessness,  or  worse.  The  address  at  the 
funeral  may  vary  accordingly.  The  case  here  treated  belongs  to  the  former 
class. 

3 


4  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

could  not  accept,  because  it  is  hollow  and  false.  Baptism  is  and 
remains  God's  saving  ordinance,  and  this  especially  for  our 
little  ones.  It  is  wrong  to  reduce  this  sacrament  to  a  lower  level. 
What  we  must  do  now  is  not  to  alter  any  of  God's  assurances 
and  promises  but  to  search  God's  Word  in  order  to  find  what 
real  comfort  and  hope  is  there  offered  us  to  meet  our  painful 
need. 

Thank  God  there  is  such  comfort  also  for  you  who  sadly 
mourn  today.  Our  Lord  Jesus  himself  has  spoken  with  some 
fulness  about  little  children,  especially  on  the  occasion  when  he 
set  a  little  child  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples  and  gave  them  the 
instruction  they  needed  so  much,  and  we  as  much  as  they.  Let 
me  direct  your  attention  especially  to  his  declaration  concerning 

God's  Will  for  Our  Little  Ones 

**It  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  which  is  heaven,  that  one 
of  these  little  ones  should  perish." 

They  are  mistaken  who  think  that  God  has  disregarded  babes 
and  little  ones  in  his  great  plan  of  salvation.  We  are  all 
conceived  and  born  in  sin,  and  we  all,  from  the  first  moment 
of  our  lives  to  the  last,  need  salvation  and  the  means  whereby 
it  is  applied.  And  lest  any  man  here  harbor  a  doubt,  the  Lord 
explicitly  states,  that  our  Father  in  heaven  does  not  want  our 
babes  to  perish,  but  to  have  everlasting  life. 

We  must  note  that  this  divine  purpose  and  will  lies  back  of 
the  special  provision  which  God  has  made  for  the  salvation  of 
our  children.  Because  he  willed  to  save  them  he  sent  his  Son 
also  for  them.  Not  a  single  babe  is  bom  on  earth,  but  what 
Christ  lived  and  died  also  for  it.  Because  the  Father  willed 
our  children's  salvation  he  also  sent  his  Holy  Spirit  for  them, 
and  provided  a  means  by  which  this  Spirit  might  enter  their 
hearts  and  give  them  the  new  birth,  the  adoption  of  children  of 


GOD'S   WILL    POR    OUR    LITTLE    ONES  5 

God,  and  the  inheritance  of  life  eternal.  This  means  is  Baptism 
in  the  name  of  the  Triune  God.  Babes  cannot  be  taught,  for 
their  little  minds  are  still  undeveloped ;  but  they  can  receive  the 
washing  of  regeneration  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  saves 
them  just  as  effectually  as  the  preachiug  and  teaching  of  the 
Word  saves  grown  men  and  women.  And  so  indeed  every  babe 
that  is  born  again  of  w^ater  and  the  Spirit  enters  Christ's 
spiritual  Kingdom,  is  the  heavenly  Father's  child  and  heir. 
Because  of  this  purpose  and  will  of  our  God  our  one  great  duty 
is  to  apply  the  means  he  has  given  us,  in  order  that  thus  salvation 
may  be  secured  for  our  little  ones.  God  has  thus  bound  us,  and 
no  man  can  dispense  himself  from  this  binding  without  contra- 
dicting God's  gracious  will  and  purpose. 

But  here  is  a  little  babe  that  has  died  without  Baptism. 
Father  and  mother  had  the  firm  intention  to  secure  for  it,  and 
that  in  a  few  days,  the  blessing  of  the  holy  sacrament.  Some 
might  conclude,  that  God  will  let  the  intention  suffice,  accepting 
it  in  place  of  the  actual  Baptism.  Now,  without  doubt,  God 
does  take  our  intentions  into  account,  even  also  when  we  have 
been  prevented  from  carrying  them  into  effect.  But  we  have  no 
word  of  God  to  assure  us  that  he  accepts  the  intention  to  baptize 
as  equivalent  to  Baptism  itself.  Such  ground  of  comfort  is  not 
strong  enough  to  steady  our  hearts  when  doubt  and  distress 
assail  them  in  the  midst  of  grief. 

Let  me  show  you,  my  dear  friends,  a  better  stay,  the  one 
provided  by  our  Lord  himself  in  this  wonderful  eighteenth 
chapter  of  Matthew  on  children  and  little  ones.  Here  the  Lord 
does  not  speak  of  Baptism,  except  by  distant  implication;  he 
speaks  of  what  lies  back  of  Baptism  in  the  mind  and  heart  of 
God,  of  his  great  saving  will  regarding  our  little  ones,  that  will 
from  which  Baptism  indeed  has  come,  but  much  more  than 
Baptism.  The  Father's  will  is  that  none  of  these  little  ones 
should  perish.     This  was  spoken  by  the  Lord  before  he  ever 


Q  FUNEBAL     SERMONS 

instituted  Baptism,  when  God's  people  were  still  under  the  old 
dispensation,  the  first  covenant,  made  with  Abraham  and  con- 
summated through  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai.  Then  indeed  he  had 
also  provided  a  means  for  children  to  receive  his  gracious 
covenant,  namely  circumcision  on  the  eighth  day.  Yet  we  know 
that  some  children  of  God's  chosen  people  died  before  reaching 
that  day,  moreover  this  ordinance  could  be  applied  only  to  male 
children.  Were  those  to  whom  it  could  not  be  applied  lost?  It 
would  contradict  all  that  we  know  of  God  from  his  Word  to  say 
so.  On  the  contrary,  here  the  full  force  of  Christ's  Word  con- 
cerning the  Father's  will  must  come  to  our  minds.  God  wanted 
to  save  all  the  little  ones  of  his  people  Israel,  and  he  did  save 
them,  some  by  means  of  the  covenant  seal  of  circumcision,  the 
others  without  that  seal  in  a  way  known  only  to  himself.  And 
thus  also  he  now  wills  to  save  also  our  little  ones.  This  is  the 
great  truth  for  us  to  hold  fast  and  build  our  hope  upon.  It  is 
your  one  support  and  stay  in  this  sad  hour. 

Because  God  wants  to  save  our  little  ones,  he  has  bound  us  to 
make  use  of  Baptism  to  this  end,  and  has  added  his  sure  and 
strong  promises  that  by  means  of  this  sacrament  his  will  shall 
be  attained.  But  while  he  has  thus  bound  us,  even  as  he  bound 
Israel  of  old  to  use  the  ordinances  of  circumcision,  he  has  in  no 
way  bound  himself.  We  know  indeed,  from  all  that  the 
Scriptures  say,  that  no  babe  can  enter  heaven  in  the  sinful 
condition  in  which  it  is  born  here.  That  which  is  born  of  the 
flesh  is  flesh,  and  remains  flesh  until  God  gives  it  a  new  birth  by 
his  Spirit.  It  is  useless  to  persuade  ourselves  that  little  babes 
are  without  sin,  since  they  do  not  commit  open  sin  in  thought, 
word,  and  deed  like  grown  sinners.  Babes  die,  and  death  is 
always  the  result  of  sin,  even  temporal  or  bodily  death.  This 
babe  has  died,  and  that  proclaims  aloud  to  us  that  it  too  came 
into  the  world  touched  by  the  terrible  taint  of  sin.  It  is  a  sad 
mistake,  then,  to  think  that  this  or  any  other  babe  may  enter 


GOD'S   WILL   POR    OUR   LITTLE    ONES  7 

heaven  just  as  it  is  in  its  sinful  condition.  There  must  be  a 
cleansing,  a  purification,  a  new  birth.  Now  God  has  not  told 
us  just  what  he  will  do  when  our  little  ones  are  overtaken  by 
death  before  we  are  able  to  administer  the  sacrament  he  has 
provided.  He  has  left  us  in  this  case  where  he  left  the  Jews  of 
old  when  their  sons  died  before  the  eighth  day  or  when  their 
daughters  died  in  infancy.  We  know  only  this — and  it  is  from 
the  lips  of  the  Saviour  himself :  his  will  is,  not  to  let  them  perish, 
but  to  save  them.  Us  he  has  bound  to  Baptism,  himself  he  has 
bound  only  to  this  one  gracious  and  comprehensive  purpose,  to 
save  them.  With  that  we  must  be  content.  And  with  that  we 
can  indeed  be  content,  leaving  all  else  to  him  who  has  ways  and 
means  to  carry  out  his  purpose  far  beyond  what  we  are  able  to 
comprehend  and  know.  That  reduces  the  measure  of  our  com- 
fort as  compared  with  what  is  ours  when  at  the  death  of  a  child 
we  are  able  to  point  to  all  the  shining  promises  centering  in 
Baptism.  But  while  we  admit  this,  let  us  hold  fast  to  the 
assurance  which  Jesus  has  given  us.  His  word  about  the 
Father's  will  for  our  little  ones  is  enough;  it  is  infinitely  more 
than  any  substitute  which  man  could  offer  us. 

So  this  little  one  rests  in  the  Father's  hands.  He  gave  it  life 
and  being;  its  soul  is  precious  in  his  sight;  he  redeemed  it 
through  the  blood  of  his  Son.  God's  will  was  to  save  this  little 
babe.  While  we  do  not  know  from  his  Word  the  manner  in 
which  he  carries  out  his  will  in  instances  of  this  kind,  we  do 
know  that  will  itself,  and  we  confidently  trust  its  heavenly 
ability  to  bring  its  saving  purpose  to  pass. 

Herein  anchor  j^our  souls,  dear  parents  and  friends.  Put 
away  all  other  thoughts;  silence  all  questions  and  doubts  by 
this  sweet  message  of  Jesus  concerning  the  little  ones  who  are 
not  to  perish.  His  Word  is  our  light  and  our  life.  May  it  guide 
and  keep  you  now  and  evermore.    Amen. 


THE   HEAVENLY   FATHER'S   WAY   WITH   THE 
LITTLE   CHILDREN 

By  Rev.  Walter  E.  Tressel,  A.  M. 

"But  continue  thou  in  the  things  which  thou  hast  learned  and  hast 
heen  assured  of,  knowing  of  whom  thou  hast  learned  them;  and  that  from 
a  child  thou  hast  known  the  holy  scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee 
wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus."— II  Timothy 
3:  14,  15. 

Occasion:  For  an  Especially  Pious  Child 

''And  he  called  to  him  a  little  child,  and  set  him  in  the 
midst  of  them"  (Matthew  18:  2).  It  is  a  happy  day  for  the 
family  when  a  child  is  brought  into  its  charmed  circle.  Fond 
parents  hold  tenderly  in  their  arms  this  little  bundle  of  human- 
ity. They  say,  ''This  is  now  bone  of  our  bones,  and  flesh  of 
our  flesh."  Here  is  physical  life,  always  a  mystery,  and  not 
less  so  when  revealed  to  us  in  the  bodies  of  our  own  children. 
The  warm  breath,  the  soft  hands,  the  sweet,  as  yet  uncompre- 
hending eyes,  the  crying,  after  a  while  the  cooing  and  the 
crowing,  the  little  struggles  of  the  hands — all  these  one  of  great- 
est interest  to  father  and  mother,  to  brothers  and  sisters. 

And  here  is  mental  life.  There  is  a  mind  within  this  little 
body.  The  powers  to  know,  to  remember,  to  reason,  are  all  here. 
Possibilities  of  joy  and  sorrow  are  waiting  in  the  world  and  will 
in  due  time  awaken  appropriate  response  in  this  child.  The 
power  to  choose  and  to  determine  has  been  given  and  will  be 
manifested  in  the  course  of  time.  What  mystery!  What  possi- 
bilities 1 

And  here  is  a  soul.  God  has  made  this  child  for  himself. 
The  child  is  created  for  worship,  for  fellowship  with  its  heavenly 

8 


HEAVENLY  FATHER'S  WAY  WITH  CHILDREN   9 

Father.  It  is  possible  for  this  child  to  believe,  to  grow  into  a 
loving  and  dutiful  child  of  the  dear  Father  above,  to  love,  to 
know,  and  obey,  to  cherish  righteousness,  to  seek  the  things 
which  are  above.  This  child  will  have  the  opportunity  to  serve 
and  minister,  in  the  name  of  Christ,  to  father  and  mother, 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  to  others  beyond  the  walls  of  the  home. 
How  wonderful! 

Just  as  great  as  the  mystery  of  life  is  the  mystery  of  death. 
The  body  once  so  warm  grows  cold.  The  eyes  once  so  bright  are 
dimmed.  The  voice  which  rang  out  in  joyous  laughter  is  stilled. 
Not  only  are  loving  parents  confronted  with  the  baffling  mystery 
of  death,  they  are  sorely  oppressed  thereby.  Some  awful  thing 
has  happened  to  their  own  flesh  and  blood.  In  deepest  sorrow 
they  ask  about  it.  How  could  this  come  to  pass?  Their  child! 
Dead!  They  themselves,  so  much  older,  are  yet  living.  There 
are  older  brothers  and  sisters.  All  were  cared  for  and  loved 
alike.  This  younger  one  has  been  called.  O  God!  We  did  not 
know  it  could  be  so.  Lord.  We  have  seen  other  parents  in 
mourning  over  their  children  but  could  not  fully  sympathize 
with  them.  Now  we  know.  And  yet  we  do  not  know.  Be  with 
us.  Help  us.  We  pray  to  Thee,  who  hast  a  Father's  heart. 
Speak  to  us.    Comfort  us. 

Listen,  my  dear  friends.  Let  me  try  to  tell  you  of  God's 
great  love.    He  wants  to  help  you.    Let  us  think  and  talk  about 

The  Heavenly  Father's  Way  with  the  Little  Children 

The  Heavenly  Father  knows  the  little  children's  need:   How 

bright-eyed  are  the  little  ones!  How  seemingly  complete  in 
themselves — body,  mind,  soul!  But  wait — they  are  physically 
helpless:  they  must  be  fed  and  tended.  They  cannot  do  one 
thing  for  themselves.  Were  it  not  for  the  ministrations  of 
others  they  would  perish.    And  these  little  bodies  are  exposed  to 


10  PUNEBAL     SEEMONS 

manifold  physical  dangers.  Illness,  accident,  may  at  any  moment 
come  on  them  and  destroy  their  lives.  Even  more  helpless  are 
these  little  ones  in  the  life  spiritual.  In  the  spiritual  things  they 
are  dead.  Born  of  the  flesh,  they  are  flesh.  They  are  conceived 
and  born  in  sin.  By  nature  they  are  the  children  of  wrath. 
They  need  to  be  made  "wise  unto  salvation."  The  Heavenly 
Father  knows  the  little  children's  need. 

Shall  we  pause  to  explore  the  mystery  of  sin?  And  especially 
in  its  relation  to  our  children— born  into  the  world  without 
their  will  ?  Why  should  they  inherit  the  parents '  sinful  nature  ? 
Why  should  they  be  brought  into  all  this  wretchedness?  Why 
not  an  entirely  new  creation?  My  friends,  these  questions  will 
not  help  us  much.  It  is  a  condition,  not  a  mere  theory,  that 
confronts  us.  There  is  life.  There  is  sin.  All  our  inquiring  and 
arguing  will  not  change  things.  It  is  the  part  of  wise  men  to 
know  and  to  realize  conditions,  and  if  these  are  burdensome  and 
intolerable,  to  seek  relief  from  them.  And  there  is  relief  from 
sin  and  from  all  its  dreadful  consequences. 

The  Heavenly  Father  has  provided  salvation  for  the  little 
children:  It  is  the  Father's  will  that  the  children  be  made 
"wise  unto  salvation" — thus  reads  our  text.  They  are  to  be 
brought  to  the  true  wisdom,  they  are  to  become  truly  wise,  and 
so  become  "partakers  of  salvation." 

All  persons,  including  the  children,  are  of  sinful  nature. 
They  do  not  conform  to  the  law  of  God.  Hence  all  are  by  nature 
children  of  wrath.  But  it  is  not  God's  will  that  "one  of  these 
little  ones  should  perish"  (Matthew  18:  14).  God  will  "have 
all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth" 
(1  Timothy  2:4).  "God  so  loved  the  world"  (John  3:  16)— 
that  embraces  the  children.  "Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,"  says  Jesus  (Mark  10:  14).  "And  he  took  them  up  in 
his  arms,  put  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them."  Verily, 
"the  promise  is  to  you  and  to  your  children"    (Acts  2:  39). 


\ 

HEAVENLY  FATHER'S  WAT  WITH  CHILDREN    H 

How  clearly  and  definitely  the  Father's  love  for  the  little  ones 
is  set  before  us. 

God's  love  is  always  wonderful.  Though  we  were  lost  and 
ruined  in  the  fall,  ''He  loved  us  notwithstanding  all."  But  the 
divine  love  loses  nothing  of  its  wonderful  quality  when  it  is 
directed  toward  the  children.  He  has  regard  to  every  little  one. 
Let  it  be  where  it  may  and  what  it  may — he  knows  it  and  loves 
it.  At  home  or  abroad,  in  riches  or  in  poverty,  in  health  or  in 
sickness,  in  beauty  or  in  ugliness,  in  silks  or  in  rags,  in  Bethle- 
hem or  in  Eome — he  sees  all  the  children,  he  loves  them  all,  he 
has  provided  salvation  for  them  all. 

Jesus  has  died  for  all  men,  including  the  children.  He  is  the 
Savior  of  all  men.  It  would  be  passing  strange  if  the  parents 
were  provided  for,  but  the  children  were  excluded.  Jesus'  plan 
is  not  so  narrow.  His  work  was  in  behalf  of  the  entire  human 
race.  "And  that  from  a  child" — literally  from  a  babe — "thou 
hast  known  the  holy  scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee 
wise  unto  salvation."  There  you  read  it.  A  child,  even  a  babe, 
is  regarded  mercifully  and  is  considered  in  the  great  plan  for 
saving  the  world.  Thus  it  was  in  Old  Testament  times.  Children 
were  to  be  taught  God's  ways.  They  were  to  be  accepted  into 
covenant  relationship  with  Jehovah.  They  were  to  be  blessed 
with  the  salvation  which  should  afterward  be  revealed  in  Christ. 
We  comfort  ourselves  today  with  these  thoughts  about  God's 
love  for  us  and  for  our  children. 

The  Heavenly  Father  has  brought  salvation  to  the  little  chil- 
dren: "Redemption  is  purchased,  salvation  is  free."  How  is 
the  gift  to  be  had?  God  offers  the  blessing  of  salvation  in  his 
word.  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  given  by  inspiration  of  God, 
they  are  God-breathed.  They  are  also  God-breathing  because 
they  impart  God's  grace.  The  Scriptures  had  been  known  to 
Timothy,  St.  Paul's  spiritual  son,  and  by  these  holy  writings — 


3^2  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

the  Old  Testament  writings — he  had  been  saved.  Much  more 
will  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  convey  truth,  grace,  and  life. 

The  heavenly  gifts,  however,  are  not  forced  upon  us. 
''Through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus"  we  receive  these 
treasures.  The  truth  of  the  Word  works  in  us  repentance,  sorrow 
for  our  sins,  and  then  the  confidence  of  the  heart,  the  humble 
trust,  in  Jesus  as  our  Savior  from  sin. 

"We  notice  how,  in  his  providence,  God  has  abundantly  pro- 
vided for  many  of  us.  Timothy  was  born  into  the  arms  of  a 
believing  mother.  Although  his  father  was  a  heathen,  the  mother 
Eunice  was  a  believer.  Both  in  the  mother  and  in  the  grand- 
mother Lois  dwelt  an  ''unfeigned  faith"  (II  Timothy  1:  5). 
Timothy  is  exhorted  to  abide  and  continue  in  the  things  which 
he  has  learned,  and  he  is  admonished  to  remember  "of  whom" 
(plural — what  persons),  namely,  the  pious  mother  and  the  de- 
vout grandmother,  he  learned  the  precious  things  of  heaven. 
Even  when  he  was  a  babe,  helpless  in  his  mother's  arms,  the 
words  of  Jehovah  were  in  his  ears,  prayers  to  Jehovah  were 
whispered  over  him,  he  was  committed  to  the  tender  care  of  the 
covenant  God. 

The  negative,  or  mental,  influence  of  a  heathen  father  did  not 
destroy  the  work  of  grace  in  young  Timothy's  heart. 

But  we  are  to  note  that  Eunice  and  Lois  were  agents,  that 
is,  instruments,  in  God's  hand.  They  were  not  themselves  sources 
of  saving  power.  They  were  God's  ambassadors  to  the  youthful 
Timothy.  The  means  which  they  employed  were  means  of  grace 
— the  sacred  writings,  the  truth  which  makes  men  free.  In- 
cluded in  the  means  of  grace,  as  we  understand  them,  are  also 
the  sacraments — ^Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  These  sacra- 
ments were  not  yet  given  in  the  old  covenant  (although  their 
types,  circumcision  and  the  passover,  were  then  known),  but 
we  of  the  New  Testament  church  have  them,  use  them,  and  are 
blessed  by  them. 


Hi^AVENLY  FATHER'S  WAY  WITH  CHILDREN    I3 

What  an  incentive  to  all  parents  to  be  mindful  of  their  chil- 
dren's highest  interests — their  souls'  welfare  and  salvation. 
Children  have  immortal  souls,  and  it  is  the  solemn  duty  of  all 
parents  to  bring  up  their  offspring  in  the  fear  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord. 

Dear  parents,  it  is  our  duty  to  come  to  you  in  a  sad  hour. 
You  have  lost  a  very  dear  child.  For  a  number  of  years  you  have 
enjoyed  the  companionship  of  this  bright  and  happy  child.  She 
has  been  a  beautiful  and  fragrant  flower  in  your  lives. 

What  promise  your  daughter  gave  of  future  usefulness,  even 
distinction.  The  hopes  and  plans  and  ambitions  built  on  the 
promise  offered  by  her  talents  and  application  and  acquisitions 
have  been  destroyed. 

But  ought  I  to  say,  destroyed?  Both  of  you  are  Christians. 
When  your  daughter  knew  not  yet  her  name,  nor  recognized 
you,  parental  love,  like  that  of  Eunice,  brought  her  to  Christ  in 
holy  baptism.  You  remembered  and  obeyed  the  word:  ''Make 
disciples  of  all  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. ' '  Scripture  read- 
ing, prayer,  and  sacred  song  created  a  Christian  atmosphere 
about  her.  As  she  grew  older,  you  taught  her.  Again  you  remem- 
bered and  obeyed  a  divine  command:  "Teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things."  How  she  delighted  to  learn  these  things!  How  she 
loved  God's  Word!  The  Bible  stories  not  only  interested  her, 
they  led  her  to  ask  many  questions,  and  she  tried  to  do  the  things 
God's  Word  told  her  to  do.  How  great  and  warm  was  her  love 
for  Jesus !   She  never  tired  of  hearing  and  reading  about  him. 

Your  daughter  was  one  of  our  brightest  and  most  faithful 
Sunday-school  members.  Bright  and  apt,  full  of  life  and  vigor. 
But  she  loved  and  trusted  Jesus  too  well  to  let  evil  control  her. 
She  had  her  faults.  But  she  always  was  ashamed  of  these  when 
they  were  pointed  out  to  her.  She  repented  of  them,  she  asked 
Jesus  to  forgive  her,  and  had  the  assurance  that  he  heard  her 
prayer  and  forgave  her  all  her  sins. 


14  rUNERAL     SERMONS 

Do  you  remember  the  Sunday  afternoon  I  called  at  your 
home,  when  a  number  of  children  were  gathered,  in  the  sunshine 
of  a  bright  summer  day,  in  your  garden?  Your  daughter  left 
the  children  and  followed  me  into  the  house.  We  talked  about 
many  things,  among  them  about  God's  kingdom.  I  had  prayer 
before  I  left.  How  devoutly  she  folded  her  hands!  And  when 
I  began  the  Lord's  Prayer,  she  was  the  first  to  join  in  repeating 
that  prayer  of  prayers. 

All  too  soon,  it  seems  to  you,  she  has  been  taken  away.  But 
you  are  resigned,  as  Christian  parents  should  be,  to  the  will  of 
God.  And  of  this  one  thing,  to  comfort  and  cheer  you  as  long  as 
you  live,  you  are  certain:  she  died  trusting  in  Jesus'  blood  and 
righteousness.  As  she  lay  ill  unto  death,  in  that  upper  room,  I 
read  the  holy  Scriptures.  Then  we  had  prayer  together  each  time 
I  called.  The  last  time,  when  strength  was  fast  failing,  I  asked 
her  to  fold  her  hands  and  pray  her  evening  prayer.  She  did  so. 
Falteringly,  but  confidently,  came  the  words: 

''Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep, 

I  pray  Thee,  Lord,  my  soul  to  keep. 
If  I  should  die  before  I  wake, 
I  pray  Thee,  Lord,  my  soul  to  take. 
And  this  I  ask  for  Jesus'  sake.'* 

Sweetly  she  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  Happy  will  be  her  waking 
on  resurrection  day. 

May  you  parents  continue  to  be  faithful  preachers  of  truth 
and  righteousness  in  your  home.  Let  the  children,  by  word  and 
deed,  by  love  and  kindness,  by  devotion  to  Christ  and  the  church, 
be  a  comfort  to  the  parents.  Thus  may  you  live  a  happy  family 
on  earth,  and  may  you  all  meet  in  heaven,  a  complete  and  glori- 
fied family  before  the  throne  of  God.  Then  shall  we  all  realize 
fully  that  the  Heavenly  Father's  way  with  the  little  children  and 
with  us  all  has  been  a  right  and  good  and  saving  way.  Amen. 


SAVING   LIFE    BY    TAKING    LIFE 

By  Rev.  C.  B.  Gohdes 

**.    .    .    God  did  send  mc  before  you  to  preserve  life." — Gen.  45:  5. 

Occasion:  Funeral  sermon  for  a  young  child  which  died  shortly 

after  baptism 

The  existence  of  evil  in  this  world  has  been  a  subject  of 
anxious  speculation  since  time  immemorial.  No  one  can  escape 
evil.  Its  pall  darkens  sooner  or  later  every  life,  no  matter  how 
exalted,  how  successful,  or  how  happy.  The  materialist,  to 
escape  the  sting  of  pain,  denies  its  existence.  To  him,  every 
species  of  evil  is  only  good  in  an  incipient  stage  of  existence. 
Even  harlotry,  dishonesty,  idolatry,  are  to  him  not  positive  evils, 
but  stepping-stones  to  future  perfection.  Of  a  continued  exist- 
ence beyond  the  dark  portals  of  death  he  is  unaware;  of  a  rev- 
elation whereby  the  light  of  heaven  is  flashed  into  our  darkness 
he  is  wilfully  ignorant.  Hence  his  contracted  view;  hence  his 
utter  powerlessness  to  bestow  and  to  receive  solace  in  hours  of 
heartbreak. 

Such  an  hour  has  come  into  this  home.  We  deny  none  of  the 
heart-rending  features  of  this  sorrow.  A  bud  which  gave  promise 
of  fairest  bloom  has  been  broken  from  the  parent  stem  by  the 
blast  of  death.  The  sweet  voice  of  a  child  has  been  hushed  by 
death,  this  relentless  creator  of  silence.  The  tiny  infant  life,  to 
which  every  tendril  of  your  heart  clung  in  passionate  clasp, 
shall  sink  beneath  the  sod  before  your  eyes.  Here  is  a  challenge 
to  all  the  powers  of  the  created  universe  to  impart  comfort.  In 
a  grief  such  as  this,  expressions  of  human  sympathy  are  mean- 
ingless platitudes.    The  warm  grasp  of  the  friendly  hand  can 

15 


IQ  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

only  accentuate  the  helplessness  of  human  love,  of  even  the  most 
devoted  and  unselfish.  Miserable  comforters  are  we  all!  But 
our  eyes  behold  another  presence  than  that  of  death.  The  eye  of 
faith  beholds  a  presence  which  irradiates  corpse  and  coffin  with 
streams  of  celestial  light,  which  discloses  the  grave  as  the  very 
gate  of  life,  which  draws  you,  weeping  parents,  into  the  embrace 
of  an  almighty  friend.  Christ  is  here,  the  God  of  love  and  life 
and  solace.  He  is  not  a  voiceless  witness  of  your  grief.  He  lays 
a  comforting  message  upon  the  lips  that  are  still.  ''God  did  send 
me  before  you  to  preserve  life" — this  is  the  farewell  message  of 
your  child. 

Our  text  furnishes  a  concrete  illustration  of  the  great  evan- 
gelical truth  that  all  things  must  work  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God,  The  reality  of  evil  and  the  guilt  of  sin  is  not  denied. 
However,  it  shows  God  at  the  loom  of  providence,  weaving  the 
woof  of  evil,  even  of  sin  committed  in  the  free  exercise  of  lib- 
erty, into  the  warp  of  his  eternal,  immutable  plan;  entwining 
the  gold  of  his  love  with  the  sable  thread  of  human  woe;  con- 
stantly making  grief  a  minister  to  godly  character,  and  tribula- 
tion a  condition  most  favorable  to  salvation.  Joseph's  brethren 
had  sinned.  They  had  robbed  the  father  of  his  son;  the  son  of 
home,  of  father,  of  liberty.  A  blighting,  damnable,  inexcusable 
sin  had  been  committed.  But  divine  love  touches  the  evil,  and  it 
results  at  a  time  of  famine  in  the  preservation  of  the  very  family 
from  which  the  Savior  was  to  spring  in  the  fulness  of  time.  Love 
touches  the  sinner,  and,  amid  tears  of  repentance,  brother  hearts 
are  united,  and  sinners  are  reconciled  to  God.  Your  broken 
hearts,  0  parents,  may  not  feel  at  the  present  time  the  comfort 
of  the  truth,  but  as  Christians  you  will,  you  must,  believe  the 
truth  that  God  is  mightier  than  death,  that  love  rules  in  this 
bereavement,  that  death  has  come  to  your  home,  not  as  a  foe,  but 
as  God's  messenger,  to  confer  upon  the  child  and  yourselves 
unutterable  blessings. 


SAVING    LIFE   BY    TAKING   LIFE  I7 

No  doubt,  when  you  stood  with  your  darling  child  at  the 
baptismal  font,  you  meant  to  keep  the  promise  then  made, 
namely,  to  rear  the  child  in  the  knowledge  and  fear  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  But  are  you  aware  of  the  dark  possibilities  of  evil 
which  gloom  beneath  every  human  life,  even  the  most  promising? 
The  safety  of  that  young  soul  was  in  your  hands  at  best  but  rela- 
tive. It  is  absolute  in  the  hands  of  God.  To  you  the  death  of 
your  babe  feels  like  a  cruel  blow,  like  a  night  dark  and  chill  and 
unrelieved  by  a  single  star-beam.  To  the  babe,  however,  it  means 
the  preservation  from  vast  possibilities  of  evil. 

You  are  both  still  young.  You  are  still  climbing  the  ascending 
slope  of  life  where  the  lamp  of  hope  burns  bright  and  many  a 
flower  of  joy  blooms,  but  already  you  have  tasted  the  stern 
realities  of  life.   You  have  learned 

"That  life  is  not  an  idle  ore^ 

But  heated  hot  with  burning  fears, 
And  steeped  in  baths  of  scalding  tears, 
And  battered  with  the  shocks  of  doom 
To  shape  and  use.'' 

Your  babe,  however,  has  been  delivered  from  the  pains  of  dis- 
ease, and  possibly  from  the  pangs  of  death  at  a  time  when  it 
would  have  known  both  the  sweetness  of  life  and  the  horror  of 
d^ath.  It  has  been  delivered  from  the  ingratitude  of  men,  their 
base  treachery,  their  fickleness  and  deception.  It  has  been  de- 
livered from  the  fierce  struggle  of  existence,  taking  place  all 
around  us  with  almost  brutal  intensity.  It  has  been  delivered 
from  the  possibility  of  poverty,  from  the  fret  of  care,  from  the 
necessity  of  grinding  toil. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  foes  mentioned  are  trivial  in  com- 
parison with  those  who  threaten  the  soul  and  its  peace  with 
God.  We  saw  the  boy,  dedicated  to  God  in  Holy  Baptism, 
present  himself  at  the  confirmation  altar  in  comparative  spirit- 


18  FUNERALSERMONS 

iial  maturity,  and  our  hearts  were  jubilant  when  we  beheld  the 
promise  of  future  power,  purity  and  devotion  to  duty.  We  saw 
the  same  lad  attain  to  manhood's  estate,  only  to  forget  every 
thought  of  convenanted  duty.  We  saw  him  turn  with  Esau-like 
perversity  from  Christ  and  his  Church,  from  Christ  and  his 
righteousness,  from  Christ  and  his  hope.  We  saw  heirs  of  God's 
covenant  become  foes  of  purity,  victims  of  intemperance,  base 
ingrates  toward  father,  mother,  and  pastor.  We  saw  them  live 
a  Christless  life;  we  saw  them  die  a  Christless  death;  we  saw 
them  go  down  to  Christless  graves. 

Such  as  these  need  our  tears,  not  the  lambs  of  Christ  whom 
the  Shepherd  takes  to  heaven.  True!  nature  demands  her  right, 
and  you  may  moisten  with  the  heart-mist  of  your  tears  the  tiny 
marble  brow,  upon  which  the  cold  dew  of  death  has  scarce  dried. 
But  let  the  significance  of  your  tears  be  not  only  grief  over  a 
vanished  life,  but  also  gratitude,  because  the  angel  of  death  has 
delivered  your  child  from  the  inevitable  ills  of  human  life,  and, 
above  all,  from  the  possibilities  of  sin,  which  may  arouse  an 
Absalom  in  the  house  of  a  David. 

Then,  think  of  the  happy  life  to  which  death's  hand  has 
summoned  your  child  after  brief  probation  in  this  vale  of  tears. 
It  is  now  in  heaven.  The  coffin  does  not  enclose  your  child.  The 
grave  shall  not  contain  it.  Coffin  and  grave  are  entitled  to 
nothing  but  the  tenement  of  clay  from  which  the  soul  has  sped 
to  the  Father's  house.  The  soul — that  bit  of  divinity  in  a  body 
created  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth — has  not  been  vanquished 
but  delivered.  While  you  gaze  through  the  veil  of  tears  at  the 
recumbent  body  the  child's  soul  is  dwelling  in  the  eternal  light. 
As  Christians  we  have  the  right  to  penetrate  the  gloom  of  death's 
presence  on  the  very  field  of  his  victory,  and  to  rejoice  in  the 
eternal  realities  of  the  heavenly  kingdom.  Oh!  were  our  sight 
not  cramped  and  fore-shortened  by  the  limitations  of  this  earth- 


SAVING    LIFE   BY    TAKING   LIFE  IQ 

life,  we  should  behold  a  vision  of  beauty  so  entrancing  that  our 
sighs  would  be  turued  into  psalms. 

You  would  see  the  hills  of  paradise,  and  rolling  between  them, 
a  silver  flood — the  river  of  life.  You  would  see  the  palm  trees 
of  heaven,  their  melodious  whispers  accompanying  the  heart- 
stirring,  soul-calming  music  of  angelic  harps.  You  would  see  the 
million  million  babes  which  have  been  transplanted  by  death  to 
heaven,  maturing  amid  the  perfect  conditions  of  God's  immedi- 
ate presence.  Shut  out  is  every  fault  that  mars,  every  grief  that 
singes  the  wings  of  the  soul,  every  possibility  of  fall  and  failure. 
Amid  fountains  of  perennial  bloom,  in  scented  groves  whose 
festoons  symbolize  the  clasp  of  celestial  joy,  by  the  crystal  sea 
where  the  saints  cast  down  their  crowns  to  magnify  the  Lamb 
to  whose  blood  they  owe  their  sainthood  and  their  home,  the 
redeemed  are  seen  in  the  pure,  blended  enjoyment  of  every 
faculty  of  soul  and  body.  And  there,  if  you  exchange  the  vision 
of  grief  for  the  vision  of  faith,  you  will  see  your  babe  in  the 
grasp  of  Christ,  its  beautiful  brother,  rejoicing  in  the  love  which 
created  it  for  such  joys  as  these. 

Only  in  the  transfiguring  light  of  such  a  vision  can  you  stand 
at  your  child's  coffin  possessed  of  resignation  and  comfort.  The 
tiny  knoll  in  yonder  God's  acre  is  not  the  end  of  your  hope,  but 
its  test;  not  the  end  of  the  life  whose  passing  you  have  wit- 
nessed, but  the  gate  to  a  fairer  beginning.  The  soul  is  set  free, 
and  beneath  the  hillock  which  you  will  garland  with  flowers  and 
moisten  with  tears,  the  Spirit  of  God  is  weaving  the  resurrection 
body  upon  the  loom  of  life;  and  when  God's  bugles  announce 
that  the  reign  of  death  is  over,  you  shall  draw  into  your  embrace 
the  self-same  child  which  God  has  taken. 

You  ask  what  warrant  I  have  to  proclaim  such  a  gospel  of 
hope  and  joy  in  view  of  these  insignia  of  death?  My  warrant  is 
the  love  of  God  so  all-embracing  that  the  tiniest  life  as  well  as 
the  most  resplendent  may  find  shelter  from  every  storm.    My 


20 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


warrant  is  the  love  of  Christ,  through  the  shedding  of  whose 
blood  your  child  came  into  the  world  created  and  redeemed  for 
heaven.  My  warrant  is  the  sacramental  dew  which  was  sprinkled 
upon  this  brow  from  on  high  in  token  of  an  eternal  covenant, 
of  which  death  is  not  the  termination,  but  the  fruition.  Weep 
not  for  your  child,  0  father  and  mother !  It  has  come  to  the  kiss 
and  clasp  of  its  Savior ;  it  is  safe  for  evermore ! 

But  is  not  the  apparent  victory  of  death  a  deliverance  for 
3^ou  also?  The  holiness  of  your  love  is  indeed  attested  by  your 
submission  to  the  omnipotent  hand  whose  tenderness  cannot  but 
be  felt  as  sternness  at  such  a  time  as  this.  Yet,  how  easily  does 
even  such  a  holy  affection  as  a  father's  and  mother's  love  degen- 
erate into  idolatry!  The  child  is  regarded  by  many  not  as  a 
mere  trust,  but  as  a  possession.  An  effeminate  love  coddles  and 
cossets,  but  does  not  discipline  it ;  suffers  it  to  play  when  it  ought 
to  pray,  to  rule  when  it  ought  to  obey;  permits  it  to  neglect  the 
holy  duties  of  religion,  instead  of  compelling  it  at  once  to  recog- 
nize life  as  a  school  for  heaven.  The  result  is  that  even  in  the 
homes  of  Christians  children  are  to  be  found  who  are  spoiled, 
petted  tyrants  rather  than  lambs  of  Jesus'  fold.  From  this 
danger,  so  great  that  it  can  be  conquered  only  by  the  grace  of 
God,  you  have  been  delivered.  Your  child  has  been  transferred 
to  the  perfect  tutelage  of  the  heavenly  Teacher  from  which  it 
shall  come  forth  lustrous  with  the  image  divine.  Beyond  the 
least  doubt,  your  child  is  forever  safe.  What  a  comfort  in  your 
grief ! 

You  have  been  delivered  likewise  for  a  closer  communion 
with  heaven.  With  longing  and  joy  you  anticipated  the  time 
when  your  child  might  fold  its  hands  and  lisp  its  prayers.  I 
know,  when  you  kneel  tonight  close  by  the  empty  cradle,  your 
prayers  will  be  sobbed  rather  than  uttered.  But  purer,  sweeter, 
more  spiritual  your  worship  will  be  for  the  transfer  of  the  tiny 
supplicant  to  the  heavenly  home  where  every  thought  turns  to 


SAVING    LIFE   BY   TAKING   LIFE  21 

worship.  Seeing  j^our  babe  on  the  bosom  of  Christ,  you  will 
feel,  coming  adown  from  the  supernal  heights,  the  touch  of  the 
vanished  hand,  the  sound  of  the  voice  that  is  still;  and  the 
praj^ers  your  child  utters  in  heaven  for  you  and  the  safe  con- 
summation of  your  pilgrimage,  will  secure  for  you  a  greater  zeal 
to  reach  that  country  which  now  holds  every  treasure  in  which 
your  affections  center. 

Viewing  your  loss  in  the  spirit  of  faith,  you  will  have  a  better 
and  more  spiritual  way  of  communing  with  your  child  than  have 
the  people  of  the  world.  They  cry  to  the  deaf  clay  beneath  them 
to  answer  their  hearts'  yearning.  At  the  very  time  of  Sunday 
worship  they  are  likely  to  be  found  garlanding  the  grave  with 
flowers.  The  grave,  and  not  heaven,  is  to  them  the  place  where 
their  departed  children  are  guarded.  Your  vision,  however,  is 
clearer,  for  it  is  lit  by  faith.  You  know  your  child  is  with 
Christ.  Therefore,  whatever  brings  you  close  to  Christ,  will 
bring  within  the  range  of  your  faith  the  child,  which  is  not  lost, 
but  kept  under  the  vigilant  guardianship  of  the  Good  Shepherd 
for  your  discipline  in  the  faith.  When  you  worship  God  in  the 
Spirit  and  in  truth;  when  you  drink  God's  peace  from  the 
communion  cup,  you  touch  the  hand  of  Christ.  In  the  hour  of 
worship,  whether  at  home  or  in  church,  your  babe  is  nigh  in 
Christ,  to  cheer  you  with  thoughts  of  the  upper  world ;  to  thank 
and  to  bless  you  for  having  ushered  it  through  birth  into  God's 
redeemed  world,  and  through  the  sacrament  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.  Believing  this,  you  will  not  endeavor  to  reach  the 
silent  clay  with  the  voice  of  morbid  grief.  Rather  will  you  in 
the  hour  of  prayer,  send  greetings  to  your  child  through  the 
Shepherd  on  whose  bosom  it  rests,  and  thank  God  that  it  is  so 
much  more  yours  for  having  been  surrendered  to  the  safe-keeping 
of  Jesus. 


22  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

Lonely,  weeping  mother,  believest  thou  this? 

"Long  months  the  hours  were  filled  with  hope  divine, 
By  dainty  garments  silently  confessed; 
In  toil  and  travail-pain  I  acquiesced, 
And  thrilled  to  feel  thy  baby  fingers  twine 
My  own,  like  tendrils  of  a  clinging  vine. 
Once,  only  once,  upon  thy  mother's  breast, 
Thy  little  hands  and  baby  lips  were  pressed; 
Then  God  recalled  thee,  oh,  sweet  darling  mine. 

"And  did  it  pay,  the  agonizing  pain, 

The  disappointment  and  the  plans  overthrown? 
Yes,  richly  pay,  since  through  my  pain  a  soul. 
And  that  my  child's,  eternal  joy  did  gain; 
And  as  the  endless  ages  slowly  roll. 
My  recompense  shall  be  to  love  my  own." 

Mother!  is  this  thy  faith?  Then  blessed  are  you.  The  child 
in  heaven  shall  be  a  power  to  preserve  your  soul  in  the  kingdom 
of  God.    Amen. 


IT  IS  WELL  WITH  THE  CHILD 
By  Prof.  J.  N.  KHdahl 

**.  .  .  Is  it  well  with  the  child?  And  she  answered,  It  is  well."— 
II  Kings  4:  26. 

Occasion:  At  the  funeral  of  a  six-year-old  girl 

The  Shunammite  woman  had  a  child,  a  gift  of  God  to  her. 
And  she  loved  that  child  as  only  a  mother  can  love  her  own  child. 
That  child  was  the  joy  of  her  life.  But  now  this  child  was  dead, 
and  her  soul  was  vexed  within  her;  her  heart  was  filled  with 
grief.  And  still  when  Gehazi,  the  servant  of  Elisha,  met  her  and 
asked  her,  ''Is  it  well  with  the  child?"  she  answered,  "It  is 
well/'  Her  heart  was  heavy  with  grief.  She  would  not  have  been 
a  mother,  if  that  had  not  been  the  case.  But  she  knew  that  it  was 
well  with  the  child.  She  lifted  the  eyes  of  her  faith  above  the 
little  lifeless  body,  and  saw  that  it  was  well  with  the  child.  "If 
thou  believedst,  thou  shouldest  see  the  glory  of  God."  These 
words  Christ  spoke  by  a  grave.  The  Shunammite  woman  be- 
lieved, therefore  she  saw  the  glory  of  God,  even  at  the  death- 
bed of  her  only  child. 

The  good  Lord  gives  to  parents  a  peculiar  love  for  their 
children.  We  do  not  know  how  much  we  love  our  children  till 
they  are  taken  away  from  us.  And  it  is  a  good  thing  for  the 
children  that  their  parents  love  them,  for  none  of  God's  creatures 
are  as  helpless  at  birth  and  during  their  early  existence  as  the 
children  of  men,  and  they  need  that  love  which  does  not  tire  in 
caring  for  them.  But  because  of  the  fact  that  God  gives  us  such  a 
love  for  our  children  it  is  hard  to  lay  them  in  the  grave.  It  seems 
like  burying  a  part  of  ourselves.  It  seems  ,as  though  all  the  fond 
hopes  that  we  have  cherished  regarding  our  children  are  blasted. 

23 


24  PUNERAL     SERMONS 

Every  time  their  birthday  comes  around,  we  think  of  how  large 
and  fine  they  now  would  have  been,  how  far  advanced  they  now 
would  have  been  in  school;  now  they  would  have  been  con- 
firmed; now  they  w^ould  have  been  through  high  school;  now 
they  would  have  graduated  from  college ;  or  now  they  would  have 
learned  their  trade ;  or  now  they  would  have  been  established  in 
business,  etc.  But  they  are  gone  from  us.  They  are  under  the  sod. 
You,  parents,  also  had  a  little  child,  a  gift  of  God  to  you,  and 
a  precious  gift  it  was;  you  loved  your  little  girl.  But  it  has 
pleased  the  good  Lord  to  take  her  away  from  you.  And  grief 
fills  your  heart ;  it  cannot  be  otherwise.  But  praised  be  the  Lord, 

It  Is  Well  With  the  Child 

1.   It  is  well  with  the  child,  because  she  has  a  Savior.    We 

have  just  been  celebrating  Christmas.*  We  have  again  heard  the 
old  but  ever  new  message  of  the  angel  of  God,  ''Be  not  afraid; 
for  behold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be 
to  all  the  people :  for  there  is  born  to  you  this  day  in  the  city  of 
David  a  Savior,  who  is  Christ  the  Lord."  You  probably  do  not 
feel  as  though  this  has  been  a  merry  Christmas  to  you,  because 
your  dear  little  girl,  whom  you  had  expected  to  clap  her  little 
hands  in  joy  at  the  sight  of  the  Christmas  tree,  lies  with  folded 
hands  in  her  little  coffin.  But  what  has  happened  to  you  this 
Christmas,  I  am  sure,  will  help  you  to  appreciate  so  much  more 
the  good  tidings  of  great  joy.  We  never  feel  the  need  and 
blessedness  of  a  Savior  from  death  so  much  as  when  that  from 
which  Christ  came  to  save  us  enters  right  into  our  homes.  And 
we  never  learn  to  appreciate  a  Savior  from  sorrow  so  much  as 
when  sorrow  fills  our  own  hearts.  As  long  as  death  does  not 
cross  our  own  threshold,  and  as  long  as  grief  is  something  we 


*Tbis  child  died  at  Christmas  time. 


IT    IS    WELL    WITH    THE    CHILD  25 

have  only  heard  or  read  about,  we  may  indeed  in  a  general  way 
rejoice  in  the  fact  that  God  has  given  us  a  Savior.  But  when 
death  comes  into  our  homes  and  takes  away  from  us  the  joy  of 
our  lives,  and  when  sorrow  is  threatening  to  break  our  own 
hearts,  then  the  fact  that  we  have  a  Savior  has  an  entirely  new 
significance  for  us;  the  fact  that  we  have  a  Savior  means  some- 
thing far  more  to  us. 

0  praised  be  the  Lord,  that  we  have  a  Savior !  ' '  Through  one 
man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  through  sin;  and 
death  passed  unto  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned."  And  the 
Lord  saw  all  the  sorrow  and  tears  and  breaking  hearts  that 
death  would  cause.  And  it  moved  his  heart,  for  he  is  full  of 
compassion,  lovingkindness  and  tender  mercies.  He  also  had  a 
Son,  an  only  begotten  Son,  a  beloved  Son,  a  Son  in  whom  he  was 
well  pleased.  But  in  order  that  our  children  might  live,  even 
though  they  die,  in  order  that  our  hearts  might  be  comforted 
when  they  are  heavy  with  sorrow  at  the  grave  of  our  dear  ones, 
he  spared  not  his  only  begotten  Son,  but  gave  him  a  ransom  for 
us,  gave  him  into  death. 

2.  It  is  well  with  the  child,  because  she  had  been  baptized 
into  Christ.  What  a  blessed  ordinance  Holy  Baptism  is!  Even 
before  our  children  '^  discern  between  their  right  hand  and  their 
left  hand,"  the  Lord  through  Holy  Baptism  takes  them  into  his 
fellowship,  makes  them  his  children  and  heirs  of  everlasting  life, 
so  that  whatever  happens  to  them,  whether  they  live  or  die,  they 
are  the  Lord's.  For  Baptism  now  saves  us,  being  a  true  likeness 
of  the  ark  in  which  Noah  and  his  family  were  saved  through 
water.  ''Not  by  works  done  in  righteousness,  which  we  did  our- 
selves, but  according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us,  through  the 
washing  of  regeneration."  "For  as  many  of  you  as  were  bap- 
tized into  Christ  did  put  on  Christ."  Or  are  ye  ignorant  that  all 
we  who  were  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus  were  baptized  into  his 
death?    We   were  buried  therefore   with  him  through  baptism 


26  rUNERAL     SERMONS 

into  death,  into  the  death  of  Christ  and  all  that  the  death  of 
Christ  has  procured  for  us  and  stands  for.  In  Holy  Baptism 
your  little  girl  was  baptized  into  Christ,  into  the  merits  of  the 
death  of  Christ,  forgiveness  of  sins,  righteousness  before  God, 
sonship  and  eternal  life.  Can  it  be  anything  but  well  with  such 
a  child,  a  child  that  was  not  only  your  child,  but  the  child  of 
God?  No,  no,  for  making  her  his  child  in  Holy  Baptism  God 
begat  her  again  unto  a  living  hope.  The  fond  hopes  that  you 
have  cherished  in  your  hearts  in  reference  to  this  child  are 
therefore  not  blasted.  You  have  hope  even  here  at  the  grave  of 
your  child.  Therefore,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  your  hearts  are 
sad  today,  ''ye  sorrow  not,  even  as  the  rest,  who  have  no  hope." 
But  joining  the  apostle  of  old  in  praising  God  we  will  say, 
''Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
according  to  his  great  mercy  begat  us  again  unto  a  living  hope 
by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead. ' ' 

3.  It  is  well  with  the  child,  because  the  angels  of  God  have 
carried  her  soul  home  to  God,  to  the  Savior,  who  bought  her 
with  his  own  blood,  and  baptized  her  into  his  death,  into  his 
fellowship,  into  his  life.   And  there  she  is  safe. 

"We  do  not  know  what  temptations  might  have  met  her  here, 
if  she  had  been  destined  to  grow  up.  Nor  do  we  know  what 
adversities,  tribulations,  cares  and  sorrows  she  might  have  had 
to  experience,  if  she  should  have  had  to  live  in  this  world  so  full 
of  sin,  danger  and  troubles. 

Many  are  the  parents  who  have  entertained  great  hopes 
regarding  the  future  of  their  children,  but  who  later  have  shed 
bitter  tears  on  account  of  these  same  children,  because  they  did 
not  turn  out  they  way  they  had  expected.  And  many  a  child  has 
dreamed  beautiful  dreams  of  a  bright  career  before  it,  but  has 
been  sorely  disappointed  because  it  did  not  find  what  it  had 
looked  for.    It  is  therefore  well  to  remember  the  admonition  of 


IT    IS    WELL    WITH    THE    CHILD  27 

the  Lord,  "Boast  not  thyself  of  tomorrow;  for  thou  knowest  not 
what  a  day  may  bring  forth.'' 

We  know  absolutely  nothing  about  what  might  have  been  the 
lot  of  this  child  on  earth.  But  now  we  know  that  it  is  well  with 
the  child.  We  know  that  she  is  with  Jesus  in  Paradise.  And  we 
are  of  good  courage,  because  we  know  that  being  "absent  from 
the  body"  she  is  "at  home  with  the  Lord."  Can  there  be  any- 
thing better  than  to  be  at  home  with  the  Lord?  And  we  do  not 
only  know  that  it  is  well  with  the  child,  but  we  also  know  that 
from  now  on  it  will  always  be  well  with  her.  The  possibility  of  a 
change  for  anything  but  that  which  is  well  is  for  ever  removed. 
The  tempter  never  enters  the  Paradise  into  which  she  has  been 
received.  Sin  is  not  there,  and  therefore  no  sorrow  and  no  pain. 
That  soul  which  has  been  carried  by  the  angels  into  the  bosom  of 
Abraham  is  not  only  comforted,  but  is  forever  safe. 

4.  It  is  well  with  the  child,  because  the  Lord  will  raise  her 
body  from  the  dead.  We  cannot  deny  that  although  we  know 
that  the  souls  of  our  dear  ones  are  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and 
that  they  are  at  home  with  the  Lord,  and  that  although  our  hearts 
are  comforted  by  this  assurance,  it  is  still  a  hard  ordeal  to  go 
through  to  lay  their  bodies  in  the  grave.  For  our  dear  ones  do 
not  only  have  a  soul;  they  also  have  a  body,  and  it  is  through 
the  body  that  the  soul  has  been  working,  and  it  is  by  the  body 
especially  that  we  have  known  them  while  they  were  with  us.  It 
is  then  not  easy  to  put  away  the  dear  body  under  the  sod. 

But  thanks  be  to  God!  "The  hour  cometh,  in  which  all  that 
are  in  the  tombs  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  they 
shall  come  forth. "  "  The  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven, 
with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  with  the  trump  of 
God ;  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first. ' '  John  tells  us  in  the 
Revelation  which  God  gave  him  to  show  him  "the  things  which 
must  shortly  come  to  pass,"  that  he  saw  the  dead,  the  great  and 


28  FUNERALSERMONS 

the  small,  standing  before  the  throne.  ''I  am  the  resurrection 
and  the  life,"  says  Christ. 

It  looked  dark  and  discouraging  on  Good  Friday.  I  know  of 
nothing  in  the  whole  history  of  this  world  that  has  looked  so 
dark,  dreary  and  hopeless  as  that  which  our  senses  perceive  out- 
side the  walls  of  Jerusalem  on  Good  Friday.  He  who  had  come 
to  save  us  from  death,  and  who  had  made  the  claim  that  whoso- 
ever believed  on  him  should  never  die,  he  yielded  up  his  spirit 
with  a  loud  voice,  and  his  lifeless  body  was  committed  to  the 
grave.  But  there  came  an  Easter  morning  after  Good  Friday; 
there  came  light  after  darkness,  joy  after  sorrow,  victory  after 
seeming  defeat.  The  grave  could  not  hold  the  Prince  of  Life. 
A  new  song  was  put  into  the  mouth  of  those  who  had  been  on  the 
point  of  despair. 

Our  days  of  burial  are  also  dark  and  gloomy  days.  Only  those 
who  have  tried  it  know  what  it  means  to  close  the  eyes  of  a  dear 
child,  and  to  lay  the  little  body  in  the  grave.  It  looks  hopeless. 
But  blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who 
begat  us  again  into  a  living  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead.  As  there  was  for  Christ  himself  a  bright 
and  joyous  Easter  following  the  sad  and  gloomy  Good  Friday, 
so  there  is  for  all  who  belong  to  him.  There  is  a  glorious  day  of 
resurrection  following  the  sad  day  of  burial.  And  then  shall 
''the  ransomed  of  Jehovah  return,  and  come  with  singing  unto 
Zion;  and  everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon  their  heads:  they  shall 
obtain  gladness  and  joy,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away." 

This  child  was  through  Holy  Baptism  grafted  into  Christ ;  she 
had  received  the  sign  of  the  cross  both  on  her  brow  and  on  her 
breast  as  an  indication  of  the  fact  that  she  belonged  to  Christ; 
she  was  a  partaker  of  the  life  of  Christ.  She  shall  also  have  part 
in  his  resurrection.  ''For  this  is  the  will  of  my  Father,  that 
every  one  that  beholdeth  the  Son  and  believeth  on  him  should 
have  eternal  life;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day."  "It  is 


IT    IS    WELL    WITH    THE    CHILD  29 

sown  in  corruption;  it  is  raised  in  incorruption :  it  is  sown  in 
dishonor ;  it  is  raised  in  glory :  it  is  sown  in  weakness ;  it  is  raised 
in  power:  it  is  sown  a  natural  body ;  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body." 
And  as  she  has  borne  the  image  of  the  earthly,  she  shall  bear  the 
image  of  the  heavenly.  Therefore,  although  the  tears  are  trick- 
ling down  our  cheeks,  we  join  in  Paul's  song  of  triumph,  "Death 
is  swallowed  up  in  victory!  0  death,  w^here  is  thy  victory?  0 
death,  where  is  thy  sting?  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the 
victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ!" 

Viewing  all  these  things,  we  reach  only  one  conclusion:  It 
is  well  with  the  child.  You  indeed  would  have  liked  to  keep  her. 
But  you  will  agree  with  me  that  with  all  your  love  and  all  your 
care,  it  would  never  have  been  so  well  with  the  child  as  it  is  now. 
She  is  far  better  off  with  the  Lord.  It  is  well  with  the  child. 
Wherefore,  comfort  one  another  with  these  words.   Amen. 


JESUS   AND   THE   CHILDREN 
By  Rev.  Albert  T.  W.  Steinhaeuser,  D.  D. 

"And  they  brought  young  children  to  him,  that  he  should  touch 
them:  and  his  disciples  rebuked  those  that  brought  them.  But  when 
Jesus  saw  it,  he  was  much  displeased,  and  said  unto  them,  Suffer  the 
little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not:  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the 
kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter  therein.  And  he  took 
them  up  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them." — 
Mark  10:  13-16. 

Occasion:  For  a  child 

Here  is  doubtless  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  scenes  in  the 
life  of  our  blessed  Lord.  In  whose  heart  is  it  not  engraven? 
Jesus  and  the  children — painter  and  poet  and  musician  have  vied 
with  one  another  in  setting  them  forth;  there  is  no  speech  nor 
language  where  their  voice  is  not  heard,  their  line  is  gone  out 
through  all  the  earth,  and  their  words  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

Especially  familiar  has  this  scene  become  to  you,  dear  parents, 
and  to  you  it  brings  today  its  particular  message.  But  a  short  while 
ago  it  was  read  in  your  hearing  at  the  baptism  of  your  little 
one,  summing  up  the  whole  significance  of  that  blessed  act  in 
simplest  childlike  fashion.  And  now  it  is  read  again,  at  its  burial, 
read  with  what  solemn  undertones  of  meaning.  Let  us  seek  to 
make  clear  to  ourselves  the  message  this  precious  Scripture 
brings  us  today,  for  the  comforting  and  strengthening  of  our 
souls.  We  shall  find  that  the  words  of  Jesus, — ''Suffer  the  little 
children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not" — in  which  the 
whole  meaning  of  our  gospel  is  gathered  up,  interpret  baptism, 
brighten  death,  and  lighten  sorrow. 

30 


JESUS    AND    THE    CHILDREN  21 

I. 

Luther,  in  his  blunt  way,  says  of  our  passage:  ''We  must  not 
look  at  tliis  text  with  the  eyes  of  a  calf  or  of  a  cow  vaguely 
gaping  at  a  new  stable  door,  but  do  with  it  as  we  do  at  court  with 
the  prince's  letter — read  it  and  weigh  it,  again  and  again,  with 
our  most  earnest  attention."  lie  dwells  especially  on  the  sanction 
it  gives  to  infant  baptism.  And,  indeed,  it  has  from  very  early 
times  been  regarded  as  pre-eminently  the  gospel  of  holy  baptism. 
For  this  reason,  too,  it  found  its  way  into  the  Church's  baptismal 
office. 

Without  any  speculation  or  the  least  attempt  at  theological 
theory  or  dogmatic  definition,  very  simply  and  graphically  for 
all  to  grasp,  it  sets  forth  the  good  news  of  baptism.  It  is  to  the 
mysterious  washing  of  regeneration  what  the  Christmas  gospel  is 
to  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation.  Among  the  many  passages  of 
the  New  Testament  dealing  with  baptism  it  stands  as  a  little 
child,  so  simple  and  tender  that  every  one  can  take  it  to  his 
heart. 

This  lonely  Man,  his  face  set  as  a  flint  toward  Jerusalem, 
halted  on  his  way  to  the  cross  by  a  troop  of  merry  children,  who 
crowd  about  him,  climb  up  into  his  lap,  and  smile  into  his  face. 
.  .  .  ITow  his  eyes  light  up!  It  is  the  one  hour  of  unalloyed 
joy  in  his  whole  life.  How  it  takes  him  back  to  his  own  childhood 
in  Mary's  arms;  and  farther  back,  with  a  great  homesickness,  to 
the  Father's  bosom,  where  he  was  from  eternity,  and  whither  he 
is  returning  now  by  a  new  and  dreadful  way. 

No  wonder  he  is  much  displeased  at  the  officious,  dull-witted 
disciples  who  would  spare  their  Master  this  trouble.  It  is  the 
only  time  he  is  said  to  have  been  ''moved  with  indignation"; 
for  that  is  what  the  strong  expression,  literally  translated,  really 
means.  It  was  but  another  instance  of  how  utterly  these  men 
misunderstood  him  and  misconceived  his  ministry.   Indeed,  there 


32  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

was  scarce  anyone  who  understood  him.  All  the  world  was  cast- 
ing him  out;  now  again,  as  at  the  beginning,  there  was  no  room 
for  him  upon  earth;  he  was  on  his  way  into  the  valley  of 
humiliation;  soon  he  would  be  hanging  on  the  bitter  cross, 
rejected  and  despised  of  men. 

But  these  little  folk  do  not  reject  him.  Naively  and  instinc- 
tively they  understand  him.  They  are  his  friends.  And,  holding 
them  in  his  arms,  he  sees  the  beginning  of  his  kingdom  and  its 
growth.  That  is  why  this  hour  means  so  much  to  him.  That  is 
why  he  takes  these  little  ones  up  in  his  arms,  clasps  them  to  his 
breast,  and  blesses  them  by  putting  his  hands  upon  their  heads. 
And  when  in  his  hour  of  triumph  he  sent  these  same  disciples 
out  into  all  the  world  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations  by  baptiz- 
ing and  teaching  them,  surely  he  will  not  have  forgotten  the 
children  who  brought  him  such  good  cheer  in  his  hour  of  sorrow, 
like  a  broad  band  of  sunshine  lying  across  his  painful  way. 
Tacitly  included  in  the  world-wide  commission  of  the  Risen 
Lord  are  the  words  of  the  Sufferer, — ''Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  God." 

Now,  my  beloved,  how  high  a  day  it  was  in  your  life  and  the 
life  of  your  dear  little  one,  when  all  this  became  for  you  the 
most  actual  reality,  at  the  sacred  font.  When  this  scene  ceased 
to  be  merely  a  story  in  the  Bible  and  a  picture  hanging  on  your  I 
walls.  When  you  found  yourselves  members  of  that  little  group] 
about  the  Saviour,  grown  through  the  centuries  into  a  multitude 
that  no  man  can  number.  When  you  brought  your  child  to  him, 
and  he  in  this  simple  rite,  this  holy  sacrament,  took  it  up  in  hisfc 
arms,  put  his  hands  upon  it,  and  blessed  it. 

You  could  not  help  thrilling  and  responding  to  the  glory,  the| 
solemn  joy,  of  that  moment.  When  you  dared  bring  your  childl 
flesh  of  your  flesh,  conceived  and  born  in  sin,  and  give  it  into  hisj 
arms,  for  him  to  bless  and  own  and  adopt,  and  then  to  give  ill 


JESUS    AND    THE    CHILDREN  33 

back  to  you,  spirit  born  of  spirit,  a  member  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  loved  and  welcomed  by  him  as  his  little  brother,  a  child 
with  him  of  God,  and  co-heir  of  the  Father's  glory — surely  that 
was  the  very  greatest  day  in  the  life  of  this  family,  worthy  to  be 
celebrated  as  a  most  joyful  feast  day  every  year. 

How  that  act  related  you  to  God  and  to  his  Son  Jesus  Christ ! 
For  your  child  was  now  both  yours  and  God's,  and  you  were  now 
fellow-parents  and  co-workers  together  with  God.  What  a  solemn 
responsibility  that  brought  with  it.  And  how  you  set  out,  with 
fervent  prayer,  to  do  your  full  parental  part,  so  that  with  God 's 
help  it  might  be  faithfully  and  savingly  brought  up,  to  the  praise 
and  honor  of  his  holy  Name,  and  finally  with  all  God's  saints 
receive  the  promised  inheritance.  Round  this  little  one  that  had 
lain  in  Jesus'  arms,  as  it  slowly  unfolded  and  increased  in  wis- 
dom, stature  and  favor,  you  heard,  at  every  hour  of  the  day  or 
night,  the  words  of  Jesus  ringing,  so  insistent,  so  sweet  with 
comfort,  so  stern  with  admonition:  "Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  God." 

II. 

But  one  day  these  words  assumed  a  different  and  somber 
meaning.  There  was  a  new  and  strange  ring  in  them  that  struck 
terror  to  the  parents'  heart.  They  meant  more  than  baptism 
now,  and  more  than  training  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord.  They  meant  sickness  and  pain,  and  they  meant  death. 
And  as  you  hear  the  well-known  words,— '' Suffer  the  little  chil- 
dren to  come  unto  me"— with  what  a  different  tone  they  fell 
upon  your  ear. 

But  she  is  in  her  grave,  and,  oh, 
The  difference  to  me! 

But,  my  beloved,  are  they  not  the  same  words  of  the  same 
loving  Friend  of  little  children?  And  do  they  not,  rightly  under- 


34 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


stood,  throw  a  wondrous  and  a  heavenly  light  on  death?  Say 
not,  A  cruel  beast  has  devoured  my  child,  disease  has  snatched 
it  away,  death  has  reaped  my  pleasant  flower.  Death  is  not  a 
cruel  monster  springing  out  at  us  and  tearing  our  loved  ones  from 
our  side;  death  is  not  a  blind  natural  force  lying  about  and 
striking  down  at  random  young  and  old.  You  are  familiar  with 
the  Christian  definition  of  death,  Christ's  own  definition, — '^I 
will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  myself:  that  where  I  am, 
there  ye  may  be  also."  Death  is  Jesus  coming  again  for  his  own. 

Look  into  our  gospel.  Does  it  not  shed  a  radiant  light  on 
death?  Does  it  not  interpret  death  for  us,  the  death  of  children, 
in  most  sweet  and  tender  fashion?  Death  for  them  is  but  Jesus 
taking  them  up  in  his  arms,  putting  his  hands  upon  them,  and 
blessing  them.  And  since  his  arms  and  his  heart  are  now  in  high 
heaven,  where  he  sits  at  the  right  hand  of  God, — when  he  takes 
our  children  up  in  his  arms,  he  must  needs  take  them  out  of  our 
sight  and  reach. 

And  though  our  arms  are  empty  and  our  hearts  broken,  and 
we  crj  with  David,  ' '  0  my  son,  my  son ! "  we  yet  remember  that 
they  are  in  his  arms,  those  everlasting  arms  that  were  out- 
stretched for  our  advantage  on  the  bitter  cross,  those  tender 
riven  hands  are  on  their  heads,  and  he  is  blessing  them.  Our 
thoughts  are  on  them  rather  than  on  ourselves.  "We  will  not  yield 
to  the  selfishness  of  grief,  that  thinks  only  of  its  own  loss  and 
not  of  the  lost  one's  gain.  If  you  rejoiced  when  in  baptism  he 
took  your  dear  one  up  in  his  arms  and  blessed  it,  how  much  more 
should  a  deep,  strong  current  of  joy  run  underneath  your  tears 
now  that  he  has  taken  it  up  and  is  blessing  it  indeed !  How  tender 
those  arms  and  how  strong!  Far  more  tender  and  strong  than 
yours.  And  how  loving  and  wise  that  heart  against  which  he  is 
pressing  it — "Er  herzte  sie,"  so  Luther  puts  it  in  his  hearty! 
fashion.  Your  love  and  wisdom  and  constant  care,  what  are  theyj 
but  faint,  far-off  echoes,  dim  and  broken  reflections,  of  his?   Carl 


JESUS    AND    THE    CHILDREN  35 

we  not,  then,  enter  into  the  spirit  of  that  "great  woman"  of  old 
Shunem,  who  also  had  lost  her  little  lad,  and  who  in  answer  to 
the  prophet's  inquiry,  ''Is  it  well  with  thee?  is  it  well  with  thy 
husband?  is  it  well  with  the  child?"  replied,  "It  is  well." 

See,  that  is  what  he  means  when  he  says,  "Suffer  them  to 
come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not."  We  are  to  give  them  up 
willingly,  to  yield  them  to  him  not  only  in  deed  but  in  will. 
"Without  murmuring  or  complaint,  no  questions,  no  reproach. 
We  are  not  to  forbid  them,  under  pain  of  his  displeasure.  "The 
Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away:  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord."  So  Abraham  bound  his  only  son  Isaac,  whom  he 
loved,  the  bearer  of  the  promise,  obediently  upon  the  altar,  and 
stretched  out  his  hand  with  the  knife  in  it,  to  offer  him  up  to 
God.  Forbid  them  not,  by  sorrowing  overmuch  for  them ;  hold 
them  not  back  from  his  hand  and  knee  and  heart.  As  we  could 
not  rejoice  even  as  the  others  who  have  no  hope,  when  they  were 
ours,  for  we  had  hope,  hope  firmly  builded  on  their  baptism, — so 
now  that  they  are  gone  from  us,  we  cannot  sorrow  as  the  others 
who  have  no  hope,  for  we  have  hope,  hope  that  maketh  not 
ashamed,  the  blessed  hope  of  everlasting  life.  Forbid  them  not, 
for  his  sake  and  for  theirs. 

There  is  a  quaint  old  legend  that  carries  a  profound  lesson, 
appropriate  here.  It  has  been  put  into  verse  by  the  Dorset  poet, 
William  Barnes,  and  is  entitled  "The  Mother's  Dream. 

I'd  a  dream  tonight 
As  I  fell  asleep, 
Oh!  the  touching  sight 
Makes  me  still  to  weep: 
Of  my  little  lad, 
Gone  to  leave  me  sad, 
Aye,  the  child  I  had, 
But  was  not  to  keep. 


>> 


36  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

As  in  heaven  Mgh,  Then,  a  little  sad, 

I  my  child  did  seek,  Came  my  child  in  turn, 

There,  in  train,  came  by  But  the  lamp  he  had, 

Children  fair  and  meek,  Oh!  it  did  not  burn; 

Each  in  lily-white,  He,  to  clear  my  doubt. 

With  a  lamp  alight;  Said,  half  turn'd  about. 

Each  was  clear  to  sight,  "Your  tears  put  it  out; 

But  they  did  not  speak.  Mother,  never  mourn/' 

m. 

But  there  is  yet  another  side  to  our  gospel,  a  further  meaning 
in  our  Saviour's  word.  It  lightens  sorrow  by  setting  us  a  holy 
task.  "Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid 
them  not" — that  means  you,  dear,  sorrowing  friends,  one  and  all. 

We  are  all  God's  children,  made  such  in  holy  baptism,  and 
having  within  us  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba, 
Father.  We  are  his  children,  ignorant,  wilful,  wayward, — dis- 
obedient children,  prodigal  sons.  We  are  all  children — do  we  not 
feel  it  particularly  today  ?  Children,  helpless  before  a  great  grief, 
our  poor  hearts  broken.  Well,  what  else  have  we  to  do  than  to 
run,  like  children  who  have  fallen  or  been  hurt  or  frightened,  to 
our  Father  to  be  soothed  and  comforted? 

Lord,  to  whom  except  to  Thee 

Shall  our  wandering  spirits  go — 
Thee  whom  it  is  light  to  see. 

And  eternal  life  to  know? 

Suffer  the  little  children — suffer  the  child  in  you  to  come  unto 
me,  and  forbid  it  not.  Come  to  him  and  let  him  put  his  hands 
upon  you  and  bless  you.  Bless  you  with  his  words  of  pardon, 
peace  and  promise,  with  his  heavenly  consolation.  For,  "Verily 
I  say  unto  you.  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God 
as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter  therein. ' '  Mark  it  well ;  there 


JESUS    AND    THE    CHILDREN  37 

is  a  stern  tone  in  his  voice.  His  kingdom  is  only  for  children ;  lie 
can  be  king  over  none  but  childlike  hearts.  This  childlikeness, 
this  coming  to  him, — what  is  it  but  faith?  As  Luther  so  finely 
interprets  it  in  his  Small  Catechism.  *'I  believe  that  I  cannot  by 
my  own  reason  or  strength  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord,  or 
(that  is)  come  to  him,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  has  called  me."  That 
is  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  of  childhood,  of  sonship.  And  he  is 
calling  again,  here  and  now,  in  this  precious  word  of  Jesus, 
addressing  itself  in  the  most  personal  and  direct  way  to  every 
heart:  *' Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid 
them  not :  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God. ' ' 

O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come,  I  cornel 

Then,  if  your  child  is  in  his  arms,  and  you  also  have  come  to 
him  and  are  in  his  arms,  why  then  you  are  not  separated  after 
all,  but  joined  together  in  a  wonderful  and  precious  fellowship 
in  him.  Death  has  not  really  parted  you,  but  has  brought  you 
more  closely  together  than  ever  before.  And  you  can  wait  in 
patience  and  in  hope  for  that  great  day  when  he  will  once  more 
utter  this  word  of  his  and  cry  it  to  death  and  the  grave ;  ' '  Suffer 
the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not ! ' '  And 
all  we  children  shall  wake  up  in  our  dark  hiding  places  and  come 
running  across  the  fields  to  meet  him,  and  he  will  take  us  up 
in  his  arms,  and  put  his  hands  upon  us,  and  bless  us.  And  his 
word  will  find  its  everlasting  fulfillment, — ''For  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  God."   Even  so,  Lord  Jesus!   Amen. 


JESUS'    LOVE    FOR    CHILDREN 
By  Rev.  G.  J.  Troutman 

"And  they  brought  young  children  to  him,  that  he  should  touch  them: 
and  his  disciples  rehuked  those  that  brought  them.  But  when  Jesus  saw 
it,  he  was  much  displeased,  and  said  unto  them,  Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not:  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
God."— Mark  10:  13,  14. 

"But  whoso  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me, 
it  were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and 
that  he  were  drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea." — Matt.  18:  6. 

Occasion:  For  a  child 

Dear  Mourning  Friends: 

The  angel  of  death  has  entered  this  home  and  laid  his  icy 
hand  on  this  dear  little  child.  We  are  obliged  to  lay  its  little 
remains  in  its  last  resting  place  here  on  earth.  Sorrow  fills  our 
hearts,  and  intense  grief  the  hearts  of  these  parents.  God  has 
implanted  in  the  nature  of  parents  a  deep  love  for  their  children ; 
and  when  this  bond  of  affection  is  severed  it  leaves  a  deep  wound, 
which  only  God's  word  and  time  can  heal.  This  ardent  love  of 
parents  for  their  offspring,  moves  them  to  labor  diligently  and 
sacrifice  willingly,  for  the  child's  welfare;  and  we  cannot  but 
appreciate  and  admire  this  innate,  self-sacrificing  love  and  devo- 
tion usually  manifested  by  parents  for  their  children.  But  there 
is  One,  whose  love  for  little  ones  is  deeper,  and  whose  sacrifices 
have  been  much  greater  than  that  of  a  father,  or  even  a  mother, 
that  has  gone  to  death's  door  for  them;  that  one  is  Jesus.  We 
will  thus  consider  on  this  sad  occasion:  Jesus'  love  for  children. 

Jesus'  love  for  children  is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  He 
became  a  child:  How  impressive,  beautiful  and  elevating  is  the 

38 


JESUS'    LOVE   FOR   LITTLE    CHILDREN  39 

Christmas  story  and  the  brief  account  of  our  Saviour's  child- 
hood. The  second  Person  of  the  holy  Godhead,  who  existed  from 
all  eternity  and  whose  power,  majesty  and  glory  is  unlimited, 
condescended  to  be  conceived  and  born  of  a  virgin,  to  pass 
through  the  various  stages  of  childhood ;  conforming  with  human 
rules  and  regulations  of  home,  church,  and  society,  not  only  to 
be  a  perfect  example  for  children,  but  to  fulfil  the  law  for  them 
and  to  save  them.  This  deep  condescension,  voluntarily  under- 
taken, is  a  striking  manifestation  of  Jesus'  love  for  children. 

Jesus  bids  little  children  to  come  unto  Him:  This  fact  is  very 
plain  from  the  words  of  our  text,  "Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not:  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  God."  Christ  was  displeased  when  his  disciples  rebuked  the 
mothers  who  brought  their  little  ones  to  him  that  he  should  touch 
them  or  bless  them.  No  one,  in  the  light  of  this  Scripture  passage, 
can  honestly  deny  that  the  Lord  wants  little  children  to  be 
brought  to  him  and  that  he  is  not  only  willing,  but  anxious  to 
touch  and  bestow  a  blessing  upon  them.  How  comforting  to  know 
that  this  child,  over  which  we  mourn  today,  was  brought  to 
Jesus  and  blessed  by  him. 

Jesus  planned  to  save  children:  The  wondrous  plan  of  salva- 
tion is  far-reaching.  It  embraces  the  whole  world.  "For  God  so 
loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  who- 
soever believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life"  (John  3:  16).  In  this  marvelous  plan  of  salvation  he  has 
made  ample  provision  for  children,  instituted  a  means  efficient 
to  reach  them,  namely,  holy  baptism.  By  this  sacrament,  our 
loving  Saviour  efficaciously  washes  away  sin  and  implants  faith ; 
thus  makes  of  the  child  of  the  world  and  the  devil,  a  child  of 
God  and  an  heir  of  everlasting  life.  Thanks  be  to  God,  this 
little  one,  whose  lifeless  body  we  have  before  us,  is  a  child  of 
God.  He  was  regenerated  through  water  and  the  Word  and  has 


40  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

thus  been  fitted  to  dwell  with  Christ  and  the  angels  and  saints  in 
heaven. 

Jesus  warns  against  offending  children:  "But  whoso  shall 
offend  one  of  these  little  ones  which  believe  in  me,  it  were  better 
for  him  that  a  mill  stone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  that 
he  were  drowned  in  the  depth  of  the  sea"  (Matthew  18:  6).  This 
is  a  strong  statement  of  our  Saviour.  He  commends  severe  pun- 
ishment to  be  meted  out  to  those  who  undermine  or  destroy  the 
faith  of  a  little  child.  And  what  an  earnest  warning  to  those  who 
mislead  children  and  cause  them  to  commit  crimes  reprehensible 
to  God  and  man.  No  one  can  read  this  Scripture  text  and  question 
the  ardent  love  of  Jesus  for  little  children  that  believe  in  him. 
No  one  can  help  but  feel  that  our  blessed  Lord  takes  a  deep 
interest  in  their  temporal  and  eternal  welfare.  It  is  to  be  de- 
plored that  there  are  so  many,  who  no  doubt  love  their  children, 
clothe  them  in  apparel  befitting  their  station,  give  them  a  good 
secular  training,  try  to  get  them  into  society,  yet  neglect  the 
most  important  of  all,  namely,  their  regeneration  and  sanctifica- 
tion,  which  is  wrought  by  the  Means  of  Grace,  instituted  by  God. 

Jesus  died  for  children:  The  propitiatory  work  of  Christ 
which  culminated  in  his  ignominious  death  on  the  cross  was  not 
undertaken  and  accomplished  for  adults  only,  but  for  children 
also.  These  little  ones  conceived  and  born  in  sin  need  redemp- 
tion from  guilt  and  its  terrible  consequences.  Christ,  in  order 
to  make  their  salvation  possible,  lived,  suffered  and  died  for 
them.  Children  need  a  Saviour.  They  cannot  enter  the  kingdom 
of  glory  except  in  and  through  Christ  who  gave  his  life  as  a 
ransom  for  all.  You  parents  made  some  great  sacrifices  for  this 
little  child,  but  Christ  made  a  greater  sacrifice.  You  have  shown 
great  love  for  this  little  one,  but  Christ  has  shown  more.  You 
have  suffered  for  this  child's  welfare,  but  Christ  has  not  only 
suffered — he  died  for  him.  Yes,  you  have  done  much  for  the 
convenience,  comfort  and  happiness  of  your  child,  but  as  Chris- 


m 


JESUS'    LOVE    FOR   LITTLE    CHILDREN  41 

tian  parents  you  must  acknowledge  that  the  Christ  has  done 
infinitely  more  for  your  child,  when  he  gave  his  life  on  the  cross 
in  order  to  redeem  him  and  make  his  salvation  not  only  possible 
but  certain. 

Jesus  takes  some  of  these  little  children  ta  himself  in  heaven : 
It  has  pleased  the  Lord,  who  knows  all  things  best,  to  take  this 
little  boy  to  himself  in  heaven.  We  may  wonder  why  one  so 
young,  just  starting  upon  life's  journey,  should  be  taken,  when 
so  many  aged  fathers  and  mothers,  that  have  practically  fin- 
ished their  course  and  who  desire  to  depart  this  life  and  be  with 
Christ,  are  left  to  travel  the  rough  road  of  life  a  little  longer 
and  farther.  God,  gracious  and  kind,  knows  the  reason,  and 
that  should  suffice.  It  is  the  loving  Saviour  that  has  taken  this 
dear  little  child  out  of  this  world  of  trials  and  troubles,  aches 
and  pains,  sin  and  sorrow,  to  himself  in  heaven.  "We  should  not 
murmur,  but  remember  he  has  been  spared  many  of  the  difficul- 
ties and  hardships  of  life.  It  behooves  us  to  say  in  the  words  of 
the  poet: 

"O  thou  whose  mercy  guides  my  way, 

Though  now  it   seems  severe, 
Forbids  my  unbelief  to  say, 

There  is  no  mercy  here." 

Jesus  has  provided  a  better  home  for  children  in  heaven:  It 

certainly  would  not  be  true  should  we  leave  the  impression  that 
this  little  child  did  not  have  a  good  home  here  on  earth.  It  is  a 
great  blessing  to  first  see  the  light  of  day  in  a  Christian  home, 
amid  comfortable  circumstances  and  pleasant  surroundings. 
Nevertheless  every  true  child  of  God  must  acknowledge  that  the 
best  home  is  only  relatively  good.  There  is  much  to  be  desired 
in  these  earthly  homes,  which  we  call  ours.  They  are  not  to  be 
compared  with  home  that  Jesus  has  prepared  for  us  in  heaven. 
The  apostle  Paul  says:  ''Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which 


42  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him"  (I  Cor.  2:9).  What 
a  comfort  it  must  be  to  you,  dear  parents,  and  to  every  Christian 
mourner,  to  be  certain  that  this  child  is  with  Jesus  in  heaven. 
He  has  provided  a  much,  much  better  home  for  this  child  than 
anyone  here  on  earth  is  able  to  furnish. 

*'In  this  world  of  care  and  pain, 

Lord,  Thou  wouldst  no  longer  leave  it; 
To  the  sunny,  heavenly  plain 
Dost  Thou  now  in  joy  receive  it; 
Clothed  in  robes  of  spotless  white, 
Now  it  dwells  with  Thee  in  light." 

Dear  mourners,  do  not  grieve  inordinately  over  the  departure 
of  this  little  child.  Jesus,  to  whom  you  have  dedicated  him  in 
holy  Baptism  and  who  loves  children  so  dearly,  has  taken  this 
little  one  to  himself  in  heaven.  Your  family  is  now  represented 
in  heaven.  May  your  attitude  be  like  that  of  David  of  old,  who 
fasted  and  wept  for  his  child  while  it  was  alive;  but  when  the 
child  was  dead  he  arose  and  ceased  weeping  and  said:  "But  now 
he  is  dead,  wherefore  should  I  fast?  can  I  bring  him  back  again? 
I  shall  go  to  him,  but  he  shall  not  return  to  me."  Graciously 
submit  to  the  will  of  Jesus  and  say: 

*' Though  we  loved  it,  as  Thou  knowest, 
Dearly  though  we  love  it  still; 
Greater  love,  Lord,  Thou  bestowest, 
And  we  bless  Thy  gracious  will.'' 

Amen. 


"IT  IS   WELL" 
By  Rev.  J.  W.  Schillinger 

"Run  now  I  pray  thee  to  meet  her,  and  say  unto  her,  Is  it  well  withL 
thee?  is  it  well  with  thy  hushand?  is  it  well  with  the  child?  And  she 
answered,  It  is  well." — H  Kings  4:  26. 

Occasion:  The  burial  of  the  only  child  of  Christian  parents 

Dear  Christian  friends,  and  especially  sorrowing  parents  of 
the  little  one  which  has  fallen  asleep : 

Our  text  brings  before  us  a  pious  woman  of  Shunem  who  was 
very  dear  to  the  prophet  Elisha.  She  had  shown  great  hospitality 
to  the  prophet  when  he  was  in  need.  In  return  the  prophet  had 
prayed  to  God  to  grant  her  a  gift  which  she  most  earnestly  de- 
sired, viz.,  a  son,  for  hitherto  she  had  been  childless.  God  heard 
Elisha 's  prayer,  and  soon  the  pious  woman  of  Shunem  and  her 
husband  were  rejoicing  over  the  precious  gift  of  a  son.  When  a 
little  lad,  the  boy  went  out  into  the  field  with  his  father  on  a  hot 
summer  day.  Here  some  sudden  calamity  overtook  him, — per- 
haps it  was  a  sunstroke — and  a  few  hours  later  the  little  one  died 
in  his  mother's  arms.  The  poor  woman's  heart  was  overwhelmed 
with  grief.  In  her  sorrow  she  immediately  made  a  journey  to 
Mount  Carmel  to  visit  the  prophet  Elisha,  believing  that  he 
would  be  able  to  give  her  comfort  and  advice.  The  prophet 
saw  her  approaching,  and  sent  his  servant  Gehazi  to  meet  her 
with  the  inquiry:  ^'Is  it  well  with  thee?  is  it  well  with  thy 
husband  ?  is  it  well  with  the  child  ? ' '  The  pious  woman  answered : 
''It  is  well." 

Dear  friends,  you  who  are  sorrowing  over  the  death  of  your 
little  son,  your  case  is  so  similar  to  the  one  of  our  text,  that  the 

43 


44  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

words  of  this  pious  woman  should  this  day  become  yours.   You 
also  should  be  able  to  say  this  day: 

"It  Is  Well" 

1.  I  would  first  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  this  pious 
mother  says  that  it  is  well  with  the  child  which  has  fallen  asleep. 
The  prophet  Elisha  sent  Gehazi  to  her  with  the  question:  ''Is  it 
well  with  the  child?"  She  replied:  ''It  is  well." 

This  pious  woman  was  a  true  child  of  God.  She  had  child- 
like faith  in  all  of  the  promises  of  God's  Word.  The  heathenish 
belief  that  death  ends  it  all,  or  that  death  is  simply  an  entrance 
into  a  dark  and  dismal  beyond  where  there  is  no  light  and  no 
hope,  found  no  place  in  her  heart.  She  believed  that  death  is  the 
end  of  all  pain  and  suffering  in  this  world  and  the  beginning  of 
eternal  bliss  in  the  presence  of  God  in  heaven.  Her  faith  was, 
that  death  is  simply  the  gateway  from  the  imperfect  life  here 
below  to  the  perfect  life  above.  She  knew  that  she  had  not  lost 
her  dear  child.  She  had  merely  given  him  to  God.  He  was  now 
with  God  in  heaven,  far  beyond  the  reach  of  all  the  sufferings 
and  dangers  of  this  earthly  life.  This  was  reason  enough  for  her 
to  say:  "It  is  well  with  the  child."  You  will  notice  that  it  was 
not  mere  sentiment  which  moved  her  to  utter  these  words;  it 
was  not  merely  a  beautiful  expression  of  words  intended  to 
soothe  the  sorrows  of  a  grief-stricken  heart.  No,  it  was  the 
positive  conviction  of  faith;  it  was  a  firm  confidence  in  the 
promises  of  God's  holy  Word.  Her  confident  words,  "It  is  well 
with  the  child,"  reveal  to  us  a  heart  which  harbored  no  doubts. 

There  is  a  reason,  dear  friends,  why  you  now,  on  this  day 
of  your  sorrow,  should  join  with  this  pious  woman  of  our  text, 
and  say  that  it  is  well  with  your  child.  Your  little  one  has  been 
delivered  from  all  of  the  sorrows  of  this  world.  By  your  own 
experience  you  know  something  about  earthly  sorrows.  You  have 


"IT    IS    WELL"  45 

passed  through  seasons  of  affliction.  Think  only  of  the  great 
sorrows  which  you  have  experienced  in  the  last  few  days.  Such 
sorrows  your  little  son  shall  never  have  now.  God  has  translated 
him  to  that  land  of  bliss  where  sorrow  can  never  enter.  None  of 
the  dangers  of  this  earthly  life,  dangers  to  body  and  soul,  can 
ever  threaten  him.  You  perhaps  know  from  your  own  experience 
something  about  the  dangers  of  youth.  Your  hearts  perhaps  already 
trembled  when  you  thought  of  your  little  son  passing  through 
that  most  dangerous  period  of  life,  the  period  of  youth.  Perhaps 
the  anxious  question  already  filled  your  bosoms :  Will  we  be  able 
to  guide  him  safely  through  the  many  temptations  which  are 
bound  to  beset  him,  and  train  him  up  to  be  a  Christian  man? 
Now  all  of  these  dangers  are  passed.  God  has  surrounded  him 
with  a  wall  which  no  sorrows,  dangers,  or  temptations  will  ever 
be  able  to  break  through. 

God  has  placed  him  in  a  home  where  there  is  no  sin;  and  sin 
being  absent,  all  of  the  consequences  of  sin  are  also  absent. 
"Where  he  is,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  death,  no  heart  is  ever  sad, 
no  tear  ever  flows.  ''Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 
hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the  things"  which  your  little 
son  now  enjoys  with  God  in  heaven. 

This  comfort  which  I  hold  out  to  you  today  is  not  mere  sentiment. 
These  are  not  vain,  empty  words.  The  hope  which  I  offer  you 
has  a  firm  foundation  in  the  perfect  merits  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Your  child  is  not  in  heaven  now  because  it  was  such  a  pure, 
innocent  creature  in  this  world,  that  God  was  compelled  in  justice 
to  grant  it  eternal  life.  You  know  as  well  as  I  that  we  are  all 
conceived  and  born  in  sin.  Your  dear  child  also,  as  innocent  and 
pure  as  it  seemed  to  be,  was  beset  with  the  curse  of  original  sin. 
But  there  is  another  whose  merits  are  perfect.  It  is  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  By  the  perfect  life  which  he  led  he  earned  heaven 
for  your  child.  His  merits  are  perfect  and  infinite;  they  are 
sufficient  to  purchase  the  infinite  treasures  of  heaven.   By  shed- 


46 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


ding  his  precious  blood  on  the  cross,  he  fully  atoned  for  the  sins 
of  all  the  world;  and  hence  also  for  the  original  sin  which  beset 
your  child.  As  Jesus,  when  he  walked  on  this  earth,  said:  "Suf- 
fer the  little  children  to  come  unto  me  and  forbid  them  not,  for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  so  the  same  loving  Savior  day 
before  yesterday  said:  Suffer  this  little  child  to  come  unto  me. 
He  took  the  little  one  up  in  his  arms.  He  presented  it  before  God 
the  Father  in  heaven.  He  said:  Here,  Father,  are  my  perfect 
merits ;  here  is  my  perfect  blood  which  I  shed ;  with  these  I  have 
purchased  heaven  for  this  child ;  because  of  these,  my  blood  and 
my  perfect  merits,  you  must  give  this  child  a  place  in  thy 
heavenly  kingdom.  God  the  Father  granted  the  request.  We  are 
certain  of  it;  for  God  the  Father  can  never  resist  the  power  of 
the  merits  of  his  only  begotten  Son.  Clothed  in  robes  of  spotless 
white  this  precious  little  one  is  now  in  the  presence  of  God 
forever. 

All  this  was  brought  about  by  the  baptism  of  this  little  one. 
Baptism  is  the  means  which  God  appointed,  through  which 
children  are  received  into  his  covenant.  When  this  child  was 
baptized  it  became  a  child  of  God.  In  its  baptism  it  was  washed 
in  the  blood  of  Jesus,  and  thereby  cleansed  of  the  stain  of  original 
sin.  Thereby  it  was  regenerated  and  received  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Thereby  it  was  made  an  heir  of  eternal  life.  You, 
the  parents  of  this  child,  should  be  of  good  cheer  today.  You  did 
your  duty  towards  your  little  son.  You  brought  him  to  God  in 
holy  baptism.  You  have  no  cause  for  self-reproach,  for  you  left 
nothing  undone  which  was  necessary  for  your  child's  salvation. 
How  easy  it  is  for  me  to  comfort  you.  I  can  simply  point  to  the 
baptism  of  this  child,  and  then  to  the  infallible  promise  of  God's 
Word:  ''He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved."  Here 
you  have  the  absolute  certainty  that  your  beloved  one  is  saved. 

In  our  text  the  prophet  Elisha  sent  his  servant  Gehazi  to  the 
Shunammite  woman  with  the   question:   ''Is   it  well  with  the 


'*IT    IS    WELL*'  47 

child  ? ' '  Oh,  what  a  question  for  a  mother  in  such  an  honr.  Her 
heart  was  breaking.  Grief  over  the  death  of  her  only  child  was 
crushing  her.  But  her  soul  was  filled  with  faith;  and  her  faith 
finds  expression  in  her  answer :  Yes ;  it  is  well ;  it  is  well  with  the 
child.  Just  so  today,  dear  friends,  God  sends  me  to  you  with  the 
question :  Is  it  well  with  your  child  ?  By  this  question  he  would 
try  your  faith.  Will  you  not  have  the  faith  to  answer  with  the 
mother  of  our  text:  ''It  is  well"? 

2.  The  faith  of  this  mother  in  our  text  becomes  more  remark- 
able in  our  eyes  when  we  consider  secondly  that  she  also  says 
that  it  is  well  with  the  parents  who  mourn. 

''Is  it  well  with  thee?  is  it  well  with  thy  husband?"  This  is 
the  question  which  the  prophet  addressed  to  the  mother  of  our 
text.  To  this  question  she  replied:  "It  is  w^ell."  Oh,  the  faith 
which  is  revealed  to  us  in  these  words.  This  poor  woman  had 
just  experienced  the  greatest  calamity  of  her  life.  After  many 
years  of  waiting  and  praying  God  had  finally  given  her  the  gift 
of  a  son.  That  son  was  then  her  joy  and  her  crown.  She  loved 
him  more  dearly  than  anything  else  in  this  world.  She  loved  him 
more  dearly  than  her  own  life.  In  him  she  placed  all  of  her  hopes 
and  fondest  expectations.  But  with  one  cruel  blow  all  of  these 
hopes  were  blasted;  and  the  poor  mother's  heart  was  crushed 
with  grief.  Even  under  these  circumstances  she  answers  the 
prophet's  question  with  the  words:  "It  is  well";  it  is  well  with 
my  husband ;  it  is  well  with  me. 

How  was  it  possible  for  a  mother  to  express  such  sentiment 
under  such  sad  circumstances?  It  was  possible  only  because  of 
her  faith  in  God.  She  believed  that  God  was  a  loving  heavenly 
Father.  She  trusted  that  he  always  did  everything  best  for  his 
children.  She  believed  that  everything  that  came  to  her  from  the 
hand  of  her  heavenly  Father  was  intended  for  her  welfare.  For 
the  child  of  God  it  is  always  well  under  all  circumstances,  this 
was  her  faith.  She  did  not  understand  it  all.   She  certainly  was 


48  FUNERALSERMONS 

not  able  to  comprehend  that  the  tearing  of  her  precious  little 
son  from  her  and  the  breaking  of  her  heart  would  in  some  way 
be  for  her  good.  But  she  believed  it.  She  believed  without  under- 
standing. The  faith  expressed  by  the  great  apostle  so  many  years 
afterwards  in  the  words,  ''We  know  that  all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God,"  this  was  the  faith  that  filled 
the  bosom  of  this  grief-stricken  mother. 

This  is  the  faith,  dear  friends,  which  must  fill  your  hearts  this 
day.  You  know  that  God  loves  you.  "God  is  love."  Everything 
that  he  does  to  you  proceeds  from  a  Being  who  is  purest  love. 
He  finds  no  pleasure  in  your  sorrow.  "When  you  weep,  he,  in  the 
tenderness  of  his  heart,  weeps  with  you.  You  know  also  that 
God  is  almighty.  "With  God  nothing  is  impossible."  Every  event 
in  your  lives  is  controlled  absolutely  by  the  almighty  hand  of 
God.  The  conclusion  is  irresistible,  that  everything  that  happens 
to  you  who  are  children  of  God  must  be  for  your  welfare.  "It  is 
well"  with  the  child  of  God  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances. 

I  am  not  able  to  demonstrate  to  you  just  how  every  event  in 
your  lives  must  serve  you  for  your  welfare.  For  example  this 
sad  event  which  has  come  into  your  lives  in  these  sad  days,  how 
can  I  make  you  see  and  understand  that  this  is  good  for  you? 
But  this  is  not  a  matter  for  sight  or  understanding.  It  is  a  matter 
for  faith.  You  have  the  promises  of  God's  Word;  and  you  know 
that  God's  AYord  is  true.  "It  is  impossible  that  God  should  lie." 
Only  believe  God's  promises.  Believe  that  God  loves  you  and 
does  everything  for  your  welfare.  This  faith  will  be  your  com- 
fort. 

Suppose  that  you  were  about  to  become  the  queen  of  a  beauti- 
ful kingdom.  Your  kingdom  is  ready.  The  day  of  your  corona- 
tion is  set.  A  magnificent  crown  is  being  prepared  for  you,  made 
of  purest  gold  and  set  with  many  precious  gems.  The  skillful 
artisan  who  is  preparing  your  crown  comes  to  you  and  asks  you 


"IT    IS    WELL"  49 

for  a  very  costly  diamond  which  you  have  in  your  possession. 
He  would  set  it  in  your  crown,  and  on  the  day  of  your  coronation 
return  it  to  you  in  the  crown,  the  most  beautiful  jewel  of  them 
all.  Would  you  refuse  to  give  it  to  him?  Oh,  no,  you  would 
gladly  place  it  into  his  hand;  and  joyfully  look  forward  to  the 
day  near  at  hand  when  the  crown  would  be  placed  on  your  head, 
and  this  your  precious  diamond  sparkle  most  brightly  in  it.  This 
is  not  a  mere  supposition.  It  is  an  actual  fact.  God  has  prepared 
a  throne  for  you  where  you  shall  sit  and  reign  with  his  Son  in 
heaven.  He  is  now  preparing  your  crown,  and  such  a  crown  as 
it  will  be  has  never  adorned  the  brow  of  any  earthly  queen.  In 
these  sad  days  he  came  to  you  and  asked  for  your  most  precious 
diamond,  your  dear  little  son,  in  order  to  set  it  in  your  royal 
crown.  Surely  you  will  not  refuse  to  give  it  to  him.  You  will 
cheerfully  place  it  into  his  hands,  knowing  that  it  is  in  safe- 
keeping. You  will  joyfully  look  forw^ard  to  that  great  day  when 
it  shall  be  returned  to  you  set  in  your  royal  crown ;  and  then  you 
shall  rejoice  in  its  presence  forever. 

Certainly  then  you  will  join  with  the  mother  of  our  text  and 
say :  "It  is  well."  It  is  well  with  the  beloved  child  who  has  fallen 
asleep.  It  is  well  with  the  parents  who  mourn.  Amen. 


THE   TWO   SIDES    OF    GOD'S   PROVIDENCE 
By  Rev.  L.  H.  Schuh,  Ph.  D. 

**.    .    .    "What  I   do  thou  knowest  not  now;    but  thou  shalt  know 
hereafter." — John  13:  7. 

Occasion:  Preached  at  the  funeral  of  a  boy  who  died  from  a 
contagious  disease.   Memorial  service 

Christian  Friends : 

On  the  twentieth  of  last  month  God  called  E G 


out  of  time  into  eternity.  For  some  weeks  previous  he  was 
afflicted  with  scarlet  fever  and  while  he  recovered  from  that 
disease,  it  left  other  troubles  behind  which  ended  his  life.  On 
account  of  the  contagious  nature  of  that  disease,  many  friends 
were  timid  about  attending  the  burial  and  it  was  thought  proper 
to  hold  a  memorial  service  here  today.  We  are  here  to  call  to 
mind  this  only  child  and  to  praise  God  for  what  he  did  for  him  ; 
to  comfort  the  parents  and  all  others  who  mourn  with  the  sweet 
comfort  offered  believers  in  the  Scriptures. 

Death  is  always  sad;  but  not  every  death  is  sad  in  the  same 
degree.  When  an  old  man  full  of  years  and  satisfied  with  life 
takes  his  departure,  we  look  for  it.  It  is  according  to  the  laws 
of  nature.  It  must  be  so.  Like  ripened  fruit  the  time  comes 
when  it  must  fall  to  the  ground.  Like  a  shock  of  fully  matured 
corn  he  is  gathered  into  the  heavenly  garner.  But  when  God  calls 
a  child  away,  the  case  is  different.  We  say:  Why  was  this  life 
cut  short  ?  why  was  it  not  permitted  to  run  its  course  ?  The  death 
of  a  child  is  always  sad ;  but  the  death  of  an  only  child  is  doubly 
so.  When  the  Lord  takes  one  child  from  among  a  number,  the 
parents  have  others  which  may  receive  their  affection  and  to 

50 


THE     TWO     SIDES    OF     GOD'S    PROVIDENCE        5I 

whom  they  may  cling.   But  when  an  only  child  is  taken  from  a 
household  the  loss  seems  irreparable. 

While  we  extend  to  this  family  our  sympathy,  we  are  forced 
to  say:  "How  wonderful  are  the  ways  of  God!"  If  it  were  not 
for  the  revelations  which  we  have  in  the  Bible  we  would  be  led 
to  doubt  God's  goodness  and  wisdom  and  we  might  even  despair. 
But  the  Scriptures  give  us  light  concerning  God's  ways.  This 
text  shows  us  that  God's  providence  has  two  sides — the  dark 
side  and  the  bright. 

The  Two  Sides  of  God's  Providence 

1.  The  Dark  Side:  Jesus  and  his  disciples  were  gathered 
around  the  festive  board.  He  had  instituted  the  Holy  Supper 
and  thus  had  shown  his  fervent  love  for  them  and  his  entire 
church.  When  supper  w^as  ended  he  girded  himself  with  a  tow^el 
and  began  to  wash  the  feet  of  the  disciples.  When  he  came  to 
Simon  Peter  he  was  surprised  that  the  Lord  should  render  him 
such  a  lowly  service.  Ordinarily  in  a  Jewish  household  this  de- 
volved on  a  servant  or  a  slave.  So  Peter  who  recognized  Christ 
as  the  Son  of  God  was  disinclined  to  accept  such  a  humble 
service  from  his  Master.  But  our  Lord  prevailed  upon  him  and 
gave  him  this  explanation:  "What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now, 
but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  Our  Lord  acknowledged  that 
there  was  a  dark  side  to  the  act,  but  he  held  out  the  prospect 
of  a  bright  side. 

Christ's  words  apply  not  only  to  Peter,  but  to  all  his  disciples. 
We  find  it  difficult  to  submit  to  him,  because  we  do  not  under- 
stand what  he  is  doing.  God  himself  says :  "For  my  thoughts  are 
not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the 
Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my 
ways  higher  than  your  ways  and  my  thoughts  than  your 
thoughts. ' ' 


52  FUNEKAL     SERMONS 

God's  will  in  the  present  case  is  mysterious.  Here  was  a 
home  that  was  brightened  by  the  gift  of  a  son.  It  was  a  good 
home  for  him.  There  was  abundant  provision  for  all  his  tem- 
poral wants  and  there  was  a  bright  prospect  for  the  future. 
Christian  influence  was  being  shed  upon  him  and  he  Was  being 
raised  in  the  narrow  way.  The  boy's  whole  life  was  developing 
in  a  normal  way.  His  mind  was  unfolding.  It  was  absorbing 
not  only  secular  knowledge,  but  the  great  truths  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. Why  should  God  take  him,  when  so  many  around  evi- 
dently will  grow  up  to  become  a  curse  to  their  parents  and 
society  in  general?  Certainly  there  is  a  mystery  about  it  that 
we  cannot  understand. 

Because  we  cannot  understand  the  ways  of  God  is  no  proof 
that  they  are  not  right  and  good.  Let  us  not  forget  that  man 
is  finite,  while  God  is  infinite.  The  finite  cannot  possibly  contain 
the  infinite.  How  can  we  grasp  his  thoughts  and  see  through 
all  his  leadings?  Is  a  father  wrong  because  a  child  cannot  com- 
prehend the  correctness  of  his  actions?  How  often  in  childhood 
we  are  mystified  by  the  actions  of  our  parents,  even  at  times 
doubting  their  love  for  us;  but  now  having  grown  to  man's 
estate  how  different  all  looks  and  how  sure  we  are  that  in  all 
their  dealings  with  us  they  meant  only  good  and  in  everything 
were  actuated  only  by  love.  The  same  hand  that  blesses,  also 
smites;  but  in  both  blessing  and  smiting  it  is  the  same  hand 
moved  by  the  same  will  and  tempered  by  the  same  love. 

Then  after  all,  could  you  believe  in  a  God  whom  you  could 
comprehend?  If  you  could  fully  comprehend  him,  you  would 
be  his  equal.  When  a  boy  understands  all  the  acts  and  motives 
of  a  man,  he  is  no  longer  a  boy,  but  has  developed  into  a  man. 
He  is  the  man's  equal.  Would  you  care  to  entrust  the  direction 
of  your  life  to  one  who  is  your  equal?  Do  you  not  feel  the  need 
of  a  God  who  in  wisdom  and  power  infinitely  surpasses  you?  A 
God  who  is  so  great  that  you  cannot  grasp  his  ways !  A  God  who 


THE     TWO     SIDES     OF     GOD'S     PROVIDENCE        53 

is  so  wise  that  you  can  just  blindly  follow  and  rest  easy !  The 
Bible  tells  you  that  that  is  the  kind  of  a  God  you  have  and  your 
experience  agrees  with  this  revelation.  Then  take  your  reason 
captive.  You  cannot  answer  all  its  perplexing  questions.  Then 
turn  a  deaf  ear  to  all  the  wicked  doubts  raised  by  godless  men. 
The  God  that  you  have  is  the  very  kind  that  you  need.  Nothing 
else  could  satisfy  your  soul.  You  could  lean  on  no  other.  You 
could  follow  no  other.  This  God  who  is  as  much  above  you  as 
the  heavens  are  above  the  earth  will  do  some  things  that  will 
perplex  and  mystify  you.  But  the  creature  must  not  call  the 
Creator  to  an  account  and  must  not  question  his  leadings.  God 
will  speak  again  and  in  time  or  in  eternity  he  will  dispel  the 
mystery  that  now  surrounds  you. 

While  we  cannot  understand  God's  leadings  we  can  submit 
to  them.  There  is  probably  no  petition  in  the  Lord's  Prayer 
so  hard  for  us  to  pray  in  the  proper  spirit  as  the  third  one.  It 
is  easy  to  say,  ' '  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread. "  It  is  compara- 
tively easy  to  pray:  ''Thy  Kingdom  come."  But,  oh,  how  vastly 
different  it  is  for  us  fallen,  self-willed  mortals  to  say  in  the  right 
spirit:  ''Thy  will  be  done."  We  say  the  words  in  times  of  pros- 
perity, when  all  is  bright  around  us,  when  we  are  blessed  with 
health  and  work  and  opportunity,  when  the  heart  is  merry  and 
life  is  one  sweet  song,  when  there  is  not  a  minor  note  nor  a 
discord  in  the  melody,  when  the  rose  is  steeped  in  dew,  when  the 
fruits  are  luscious  and  when  the  sun  arises  in  a  blaze  of  glory. 
Thank  God  these  days  and  occasions  come  and  the  heart  wells 
over  with  joy.  But  God  knows  that  there  are  other  days.  They 
must  come  in  a  sin-cursed  world  and  they  do  come.  And  when 
they  come,  can  we  still  say:  "Thy  will  be  done"?  When  adver- 
sity, poverty,  sickness,  pain,  dishonor,  shame,  back-bitings  and 
the  whole  troop  of  sin's  children  come  into  the  house  and  soul, 
what  then?  When  death  comes,  and  the  chair  is  empty,  the  pat- 
ter of  little  feet  is  heard  no  more,  when  the  encircling  arms  have 


54  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

turned  icy  and  the  luster  of  the  eye  is  gone  and  the  heart-beat 
is  stopped,  what  then?  Can  you  still  say,  ''Thy  will  be  done"? 
Or  do  you  say  with  the  furrows  growing  deeper  in  your  brow, 
with  emotion  smothering  the  voice  and  inexpressible  pain  in  the 
heart:  ''Is  this  the  will  of  my  God?  Yesterday  he  brightened 
my  home  with  one  who  was  the  image  of  myself.  I  know  that 
that  was  his  will  for  I  was  inexpressibly  happy.  But  today,  his 
face  has  turned  from  me,  the  joy  has  gone  out  of  my  life,  and  my 
heart  is  breaking."  In  your  weakness  you  say,  "0  God,  thy 
will  be  done,  but  not  today,  some  other  time,  in  some  other  way, 
in  some  other  home."  How  hard  it  is  for  frail,  sinful  man  to 
pray,  "Thy  will  be  done." 

The  Spirit  of  God  comes  to  our  aid  and  assists  our  weakness. 

He  sets  before  us  the  perfect  example  of  Jesus  and  he  gives 
us  that  spirit  of  resignation  which  the  Master  manifested.  Behold 
him  in  Gethsemane.  He  lies  prostrate.  Drops  of  bloody  sweat 
ooze  from  his  forehead  and  he  utters  those  words:  "Father,  if 
it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass  from  me.  But  not  my  will,  but 
thine  be  done."  Was  it  hard  for  the  Holy  One  to  bear  the  cross? 
Did  he  tremble  and  shrink  back  ?  He  did ;  but  yet  he  submitted. 
Knowing  full  well  that  the  race  could  be  redeemed  by  blood  alone, 
that  that  was  the  will  of  his  Father,  that  divine  justice  must  be 
satisfied,  he  denied  his  own  will  and  wrestlfed  with  himself  until 
his  will  conformed  to  that  of  the  Father.  That  was  the  darkest, 
the  most  trying  hour  of  his  life,  but  he  prevailed.  With  that  ex- 
ample before  you  and  with  his  Spirit  in  your  heart,  submission 
will  come,  resignation  will  follow,  your  prayer  for  strength  will 
be  answered  and  this  sorrow  will  not  crush  you. 

That  Spirit  teaches  you  that  all  things  serve  for  good  that 
love  the  Lord.  "All  things."  Hold  fast  to  these  words.  Then 
not  only  the  blessings  of  life,  but  its  trials  and  crosses  will  serve 
for  good.  No  one  will  be  able  to  show  you  how  this  dispensation 
will  fit  into  your  lives  and  helps  to  accomplish  God's  ultimate 


THE     TWO     SIDES     OF     GOD'S    PROVIDENCE        55 

purpose,  the  salvation  of  your  soul,  but  it  will.  It  takes  faith, 
and  having  that  you  are  planting  your  feet  upon  an  immovable 
foundation.  God's  design  in  your  life  will  be  accomplished. 
You  take  a  watch  and  look  into  the  mechanism  and  you  see  large 
wheels  and  small  ones;  some  moving  forward  and  others  back- 
ward; some  rapidly  and  some  slowly,  and  you  say,  ''This  is  all 
confusion,  there  is  no  design  here."  But  just  turn  it  over  and 
you  will  find  that  every  movement  of  every  wheel  fits  into  the 
one  purpose  of  driving  the  hands  forward.  Confusion  on  the 
one  side  and  design  on  the  other.  No  matter  how  confusing  the 
mechanism  may  be  to  an  untrained  mind,  it  is  all  plain  to  a 
trained  mind.  The  maker  of  the  watch  understands  every  move- 
ment and  fits  every  part  to  one  purpose.  So  says  Paul:  "All 
things  serve  together  for  good."  If  you  will  hold  that  fast  and 
remember  that  God  is  love,  that  he  loves  you,  that  not  a  sparrow 
falls  from  the  housetops  nor  a  hair  from  the  head  without  his 
knowledge,  you  will  believe  his  promise,  however  dark  the  provi- 
dence of  your  lives  may  be  today. 

God's  providence  has  a  dark  side.  "We  are  walking  in  it  now. 
Thank  God  it  also  has  a  bright  side. 

II.  The  Bright  Side:  Even  in  this  present  life  the  time  fre- 
quently comes  that  the  Lord  leads  us  to  know  and  understand 
his  ways.  It  was  so  in  the  life  of  his  disciples.  After  Jesus  was 
crucified  and  arose  from  the  dead  and  ascended  into  heaven  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  how  different  all 
the  life  and  work  of  Christ  appeared  to  his  followers.  Then 
they  understood  what  before  puzzled  them  and  Jesus  was  glori- 
fied before  them  as  never  before.  When  the  Lord  talked  to  them 
of  his  crucifixion  they  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  such  a  fate. 
They  thought  only  of  his  suffering  and  humiliation;  but  after 
the  redemption  of  the  race  was  accomplished  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  enlightened  them,  how  their  view  was  changed  and  how 
they  glorified  God  for  what  his  Son  had  done.   On  the  night  that 


56 


FUNEKAL     SERMONS 


Jesus  washed  the  feet  of  Peter  and  the  rest  of  his  disciples,  they 
did  not  yet  understand  the  lesson  of  humble  service  that  he  was 
giving  them  by  his  example ;  but  by  and  by  they  understood  the 
spirit  of  his  work  and  themselves  tried  to  exemplify  it. 

When  Joseph  of  old  was  sold  by  his  brethren  into  Egyptian 
bondage,  things  must  have  looked  very  dark  unto  him  and  he 
certainly  did  not  understand  how  that  was  a  step  in  the  fulfill- 
ment of  his  two  dreams.  When  God  gave  him  the  vision  of  all 
the  sheaves  bowing  down  to  him,  he  no  doubt  understood  that  he 
was  to  be  highly  exalted.  But  when  the  caravan  took  him  away, 
when  he  was  sold  and  enslaved  in  Potiphar's  house,  when  he  was 
cast  into  prison  for  three  years,  he  must  have  had  great  difficulty 
in  fitting  the  promise  and  fulfillment  together.  But  when  he  was 
exalted  next  to  Pharaoh,  when  he  collected  the  grain  of  Egypt 
and  especially  when  his  brethren  came  to  buy  grain  and  when  at 
last  the  whole  family  were  located  in  Goshen  and  saved  from 
famine,  then  the  bright  side  of  God's  providence  appeared  unto 
him.  It  was  then  that  he  said:  "Ye  meant  it  unto  evil,  but  God 
meant  it  unto  good." 

In  the  life  of  Abraham  the  bright  side  of  God's  providence 
appeared.  Jehovah  called  him  out  of  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  and 
told  him  to  go  into  a  land  that  God  would  show  him.  The  Lord 
took  him  into  a  strange  land.  He  separated  him  from  all  his 
country  and  its  people.  Think  of  the  dark  days  that  Abraham 
lived  through.  Was  it  plain  to  the  patriarch  how  Jehovah  would 
fulfil  his  promise  to  make  of  him  a  great  nation  when  he  called 
upon  Abraham  to  offer  his  only  son,  Isaac?  It  must  have  been 
confusing.  But  he  obeyed  in  spirit.  But  when  we  look  back  over 
the  patriarch's  life  how  gloriously  Jehovah  fulfilled  his  prom- 
ises. We  see  the  seed  of  Abraham  in  whom  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  were  blessed.  In  the  light  of  the  New  Testament  we  see 
what  a  truthful  God  Abraham  was  following  and  we  enjoy  the 


THE     TWO     SIDES     OF     GOD'S     PROVIDENCE        57 

salvation  that  the  Lord  prepared  through  the  patriarch.  The 
darkness  has  been  changed  to  light. 

Suppose  that  in  this  present  life  this  change  from  darkness 
to  light  would  never  come.  Eemember  that  death  does  not  end 
all.  There  is  another  stage  to  human  existence  and  there  the 
problems  of  earth  will  be  solved.  Our  God  is  eternal,  with  all 
eternity  before  him  why  should  he  be  in  haste?  Unlike  ours,  his 
days  are  not  like  a  hand-breadth,  his  life  is  not  like  a  vapor,  nor  is 
he  like  a  blade  of  grass  that  flourishes  in  the  morning  but  is  cut 
down  and  withered  before  night.  His  years  endure  and  in  that 
after  state  there  will  be  plenty  of  time  to  unravel  what  has  mysti- 
fied us  here.  When  life  is  completed  and  the  will  of  the  Lord  is 
accomplished,  when  we  are  saved  and  are  over  on  the  other  side 
singing  the  song  of  redemption,  when  we  shall  no  longer  see 
fragments  of  his  ways,  but  the  whole  completed  design,  then  we 
shall  understand  what  God  has  done  and  we  shall  look  up  to 
him  in  adoration  and  praise. 

Even  now  amid  the  gathering  gloom  it  is  possible  to  see  the 
bright  side  coming. 

Suppose  that  this  dispensation  of  God  should  call  the  atten- 
tion of  these  parents  so  forcibly  to  the  life  to  come  as  to  make 
it  a  reality.  To  most  people  the  unseen  world  is  not  real.  To  many 
it  is  a  dream,  a  theory,  a  mist.  It  is  so  far  removed  from  all 
their  thoughts  and  deeds  that  it  is  left  out  of  all  their  reckoning. 
Some  day  death  comes.  A  friend  is  translated.  The  question 
comes.  Where  is  he?  Can  I  go  to  him?  Can  I  see  him  and  be 
reunited  with  him?  And  there  is  born  a  heavenly  longing  that 
develops  into  a  homesickness.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  some 
realize  that  heaven  is  a  reality  and  that  it  may  be  reached. 

An  old  man  lived  fifty  years  on  the  banks  of  a  stream,  but  he 
never  crossed  over.  All  his  possessions,  all  his  family,  all  his 
activity  were  on  this  side.  One  day  his  son  was  married  and 
settled  on  the  other  side.    Then  the  old  man  developed  an  interest 


58 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


for  the  other  side.  He  began  to  inquire  about  it.  He  stood  on  the 
river's  bank  and  looked  over  and  one  day  when  his  longing 
could  no  longer  be  suppressed,  he  went  over  to  the  other  side  to 
see  the  land  where  his  boy  lived. 

The  world  is  so  real.  It  appeals  to  our  senses.  We  set  our 
feet  upon  it.  Here  we  build  our  homes  and  raise  our  families  and 
fight  for  a  living  and  try  to  realize  our  hopes.  There  is  great 
danger  that  we  may  lose  sight  of  heaven.  Certainly  a  great  many 
do.  Then  some  day  God  takes  a  loved  one  over  to  the  other  side. 
We  understand  that  such  a  one  will  never  return  to  us  and  then 
there  is  born  that  inexpressible  longing  to  follow.  The  follies  of 
life  no  longer  appeal  to  us.  A  sobriety  and  seriousness  hitherto 
unknown  creeps  into  life,  and  we  follow  the  vision  glorious  until 
it  leads  us  home. 

Now  we  walk  in  the  dark  side  of  God's  providence;  there  is 
often  a  gathering  gloom  and  an  uncertainty  that  is  oppressive. 
Hold  fast  his  hand.  The  clouds  will  roll  away  and  when  the 
light  of  another  world  breaks  upon  you,  when  you  are  walking 
in  the  bright  side  of  his  providence,  you  will  say:  "He  hath  done 
all  things  well."   Amen. 


DEATH  AND  SLEEP— A  COMPARISON  AND  A  CONTRAST 
By  Rev.  George  J.  Gongoware 

"He   said  unto   them,   Give  place:     for  the  maid  is   not  dead,   "but 
sleepeth    .    .    ."—Matt.  9:  24. 

Occasion:  For  a  child 

In  the  death  and  restoration  of  this  child  we  have  both  a 
parable  and  prophecy.  As  a  parable  it  illustrates  the  resurrection 
of  the  body.  As  a  prophecy  it  predicts  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  and  testifies  to  the  reality  of  the  life  to  come.  ''The  Son  of 
God  was  manifested  that  he  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 
devil."  The  chief  work  of  the  devil  is  death.  ''The  last  enemy 
that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death." 

Death  and  life  are  opposites.  Where  death  is,  taking  the 
word  in  its  full  sense,  there  life  is  not.  Where  life  is,  taking  the 
word  in  its  complete  meaning,  there  death  is  not. 

But  while  death  and  life  are  opposites,  they  are  very  closely 
connected,  or  rather  related.  They  are  the  opposite  sides  of  the 
same  wonderful  mystery;  the  mystery  of  being.  Where  life  ends 
death  begins ;  where  death  ends  life  begins.  And  yet  it  is  impos- 
sible to  note  the  exact  point  where  the  one  ends  and  the  other 
begins. 

It  is  like  the  succession  of  day  and  night.  The  day  dies,  and 
the  day  dawns.  But  who  can  note  the  exact  instant  when  the 
day  finally  sinks  into  night,  or  when  the  morning  is  born? 

Death  and  life  are  both  in  our  world.  We  know  that  life 
came  first.  We  understand  that  death,  in  the  full  sense  of  the 
word,  came  as  a  result  of  sin,  "By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the 
world,  and  death  by  sin."  "Sin  bringeth  forth  death."  Sin,  in 
its  very  nature  and  essence,  is  death. 

59 


60 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


Now,  if  we  look  at  the  matter  from  one  point  of  view,  in 
this  world  death  everywhere  pursues  and  assails  life.  If  we  look 
at  the  matter  from  the  opposite  point  of  observation,  life  every- 
where pursues  and  assails  death. 

Finally,  life  will  triumph  over  death  everywhere,  except  in 
the  heart  of  him  who  refuses  stubbornly  and  persistently  to 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  death  that  finally  swallows  up 
life,  but  the  contrary.  Paul  says:  ''Death  is  swallowed  up  in 
victory."  That  thrilling  announcement,  in  substance,  is  made  in 
several  places  in  the  Bible. 

Even  in  the  world  of  inanimate  nature  the  same  life  rises  to 
higher  forms  and  conditions  through  what  looks  very  much  like 
death,  as  when  the  buried  seed  reappears  in  the  form  of  flower 
and  fruit,  or  when  the  creeping  worm  entombed  in  its  cocoon 
breaks  forth  as  a  beautiful  winged  creature.  This  portrays  the 
distinct  aspiration  of  man  for  higher  and  fuller  life — the  aspira- 
tion and  the  faith  of  the  Christian  heart  which  the  poet  expresses 
with  such  intense  ardor  and  impressive  beauty: 

'*0  Love,  that  will  not  let  me  go, 
I  rest  my  weary  soul  in  Thee; 
I  give  Thee  back  the  life  I  owe, 
That  in  Thine  ocean  depths  its  flow 
May  richer,  fuller  be. 

'*0  Light,  that  followest  all  my  way, 
I  yield  my  flickering  torch  to  Thee; 
My  heart  restores  its  borrowed  ray, 
That  in  Thy  sunshine's  blaze  its  day 
May  brighter,  fairer  be." 

It  even  seems  that,  under  the  benevolent  and  beneficent  omnipo- 
tence of  God,  death  actually  ministers  to  life,  and  is  a  condition 
or  a  process  through  which  life  is  assisted  and  promoted. 

If  death  is  like  sleep,  or  if,  in  any  sense,  death  is  a  form  of 
sleep  this  is  obviously  true.   And  from  the  text  and  from  many 


DEATH  AND  SLEEP— COMPARISON  AND  CONTRAST    Q 

other  scriptural  passages  this  is  certainly  clearly  established. 
Jesus  said,  ''The  maid  is  not  dead  but  sleepeth." 

There  is  no  question  about  the  fact  that  she  was  dead.  The 
ruler  had  reported  the  fact  of  his  daughter's  death  when  he  first 
came  to  the  IMaster,  "My  daughter  is  even  now  dead;  but  come 
and  lay  thy  hand  upon  her  and  she  shall  live." 

"When  they  came  to  the  house  they  found  that  preparations 
for  the  funeral  had  already  begun. 

The  minstrels  are  there  playing  their  plaintive  dirges.  The 
hired  mourners  are  uttering  their  wailing  cries. 

It  was  directly  to  these  that  Jesus  said :  ' '  Give  place,  the  maid 
is  not  dead." 

They  ridiculed  such  an  assurance.  They  were  too  familiar 
with  many  forms  of  death  to  be  mistaken. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  then,  that  the  ruler's  child  was  dead; 
and  that  Jesus  did  not  intend  to  be  understood  as  saying  that 
she  was  merely  in  a  faint,  or  in  a  deep,  torpid  sleep  induced  by 
her  disease. 

An  exact  parallel,  almost,  to  this  incident  is  the  case  of 
Lazarus. 

"When  Lazarus  died,  Jesus,  who,  at  the  time,  was  some  dis- 
tance away,  said  to  his  disciples :  ' '  Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepeth ; 
but  I  go  that  I  may  awake  him  out  of  sleep. ' ' 

His  disciples  misunderstood  him.  They  supposed  he  meant 
that  Lazarus  had  fallen  into  a  natural  sleep,  and  they  were 
pleased,  for  they  knew  that  was  a  favorable  and  encouraging 
condition.    Then  Jesus  told  them  plainly:  ''Lazarus  is  dead." 

No  possibility  of  mistake.  In  that  case  certainly  Jesus  spoke 
of  natural  death  as  a  sleep. 

In  Deut.  (31:  14,  16)  we  read:  "The  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Behold  thy  days  approach  that  thou  must  die."  "Behold,  thou 
shalt  sleep  with  thy  fathers." 


62  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

In  I  Kings  (2:  10)  it  is  recorded:  ''So  David  slept  with  his 
fathers,  and  was  buried  in  the  city  of  David. ' ' 

In  one  of  Paul's  sermons,  preserved  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, we  find  this  peculiar  statement:  "For  David,  after  he  had 
served  his  own  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  fell  on  sleep,  and 
was  laid  unto  his  fathers,  and  saw  corruption"  (Acts  13:  36). 

Here  the  process  of  death  or  dying  is  simply  described  as 
falling  asleep;  as  gently  sinking  down  upon  the  soft  pillows  of 
unconscious  slumber. 

The  same  word  is  used  to  describe  the  violent  death  of 
Stephen.  While  his  persecutors  stoned  him,  and  while,  like  his 
Master,  he  was  praying  God  to  forgive  them,  Stephen  ''fell 
asleep." 

There  are  two  other  passages  which  in  a  very  forcible  manner 
and  connection  speak  of  death  as  a  sleep. 

I  Thess.  4:  14.  "If  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again, 
even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  w^ith  him." 

I  Cor.  15:  20.  "But  now  hath  Christ  been  raised  from  the 
dead,  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  are  asleep." 

We  find,  therefore,  that  one  of  the  most  frequent,  and  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  most  gentle,  beautiful  and  comforting  figures 
under  which  the  Scriptures  speak  of  death,  is  this  of  sleep. 

We  are  not  to  understand  that  death  is  a  sleep,  either  as  to 
the  body  or  the  soul,  but  that  death  is  like  sleep  so  much  so,  that 
we  may  learn  a  great  deal  about  death  from  what  we  know  and 
observe  of  sleep. 

Let  us  note  some  of  the  most  obvious  of  these  points  of  simi- 
larity between  death  and  sleep. 

I.  The  outward  appearance:  The  poets  and  others  who  have 
compared  death  to  sleep  doubtless  were  led  to  do  so  first  of  all 
because  those  who  have  just  died  and  those  who  are  sleeping,  to 
the  casual  and  often  to  the  close  observer,  appear  much  the  same. 
The  same  quietness;  the  same  peacefulness ;  often  the  same  ex- 


DEATH  AND  SLEEP— COMPARISON  AND  CONTRAST    53 

pression  lingers  upon  the  face  of  the  dead  which  we  have  seen 
playing  through  the  features  of  the  living  sleeper. 

Little  children  cannot  comprehend  the  difference  between 
sleep  and  death.    To  them  the  one  is  as  the  other. 

This  outward  resemblance,  of  course,  lasts  only  for  a  little 
while.  Death  soon  disintegrates  and  destroys  the  earthly  taber- 
nacle of  the  body.  As  death  withdraws  the  soul  from  the  outer 
courts  of  the  body,  so  it  soon  withdraws  the  body  itself  into  the 
sphere  of  the  invisible  world.  But  until  that  takes  place,  or 
begins  to  take  place,  death  and  sleep  look  like  sisters  and  counter- 
parts of  each  other. 

II.  Unconsciousness  as  to  the  outer  world:  When  we  fall 
asleep  the  soul  retreats  to  the  inner  places  of  our  being.  The 
doors  of  the  senses  are  closed;  the  curtains  of  the  sense-windows 
are  drawn,  as  we  close  the  doors  and  draw  the  curtains  of  the 
windows  in  our  houses  when  the  night  falls  and  we  retire  to  rest. 

So  in  death,  the  life  does  not  go  out  with  the  breath,  but  it 
goes  back  into  the  deep  places  of  its  own  being ;  goes  in  the  same 
direction,  if  we  may  so  speak,  as  it  does  in  falling  asleep;  and 
enters  into  the  spiritual  world  from  that  side  of  our  being  which 
is  turned  toward  the  spiritual  world,  and  which  really,  even 
while  we  live  here  in  this  outward  world,  lies  within  that  spiritual 
realm. 

In  sleep  we  are  unconscious  of  the  outer  world,  except  in  so 
far  as  this  world  presses  upon  our  dulled  and  inactive  senses  in  a 
dark  and  confused  way,  and  thus  holds  us,  as  it  were,  on  the 
borderland  of  wakefulness. 

So,  in  death  there  can  be  no  direct  consciousness  of  this  outer 
world.  For  the  dead  there  is  no  possibility  of  consciousness 
through  the  bodily  channels  of  sense  and  sensibility.  These  have 
been  destroyed. 

But  as  in  sleep  the  soul  has  a  kind  of  consciousness  of  the 
world  of  sense,  so  in  death  the  soul  retains  its  impression  of  the 


g4  FUNEEALSERMONS 

material  world;  a  memory  of  it,  and  of  all  that  came  into  the 
soul's  experience  while  it  was  passing  through  the  material 
world.  So  too  in  death  the  soul  carries  within  itself  a  conscious- 
ness of  the  continued  existence  of  the  world;  of  the  activities 
and  developments  that  go  forward  in  the  world  as  it  moves 
toward  its  divinely  appointed  goal. 

Thus  the  dead  in  Christ  hope  and  look,  and  wait  for  the  full 
salvation  which  will  be  attained  at  the  end  of  the  world;  at  the 
resurrection  and  glorification  of  the  body. 

But  the  dead  have  no  direct  communication  with  or  immediate 
knowledge  of  what  takes  place  in  this  world. 

If  they  ever  have  such  knowledge  it  must  be  by  the  special 
permission  of  God ;  and  it  must  be  effected  in  and  through  Jesus 
Christ.  Because  they  abide  in  Christ  in  a  most  intimate  and 
peculiar  way  until  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 

III.  Release  from  the  labors  and  cares  of  the  world:  They 
that  sleep  rest  from  their  labors.  They  are  released  from  all  cares 
and  burdens,  and  sufferings  of  life. 

The  sorrowing  are  at  peace  in  sleep,  and  the  sick  are  well. 
Even  the  wicked,  in  sleep,  are  withdrawn  from  their  wickedness, 
and  held  in  the  kind  and  merciful  hand  of  God  away  from  the 
consequences  of  their  transgressions. 

To  them  that  are  in  the  Lord  death  brings  a  far  more  com- 
plete deliverance  from  the  burdens  of  outward  life.  ''They  rest 
from  their  labors,"  and  ''they  enter  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord." 
They  lay  aside  the  weapons  of  their  earthly  warfare.  Their  con- 
flict is  ended.  Their  victory  is  won.  Their  crown  no  man  taketh 
from  them. 

To  those  who  do  not  die  in  the  Lord,  and  who  therefore  do  not 
sleep  in  him  or  rest  in  him,  there  will  indeed  be  a  discontinuance 
of  actual  sin,  since  they  have  no  longer  power  to  actualize  their 
evil  principles  in  external  performances,  but  they  are  separated 
from  God,  and  shut  up  to  the  companionship  of  their  own  evil 


DEATH  AND  SLEEP— COMPARISON  AND  CONTRAST    ^5 

natures.  Their  condition  is  one  of  darkness  and  of  indescribable 
wretchedness. 

IV.  Sleep  and  death  continue,  but  loak  to  an  awakening:  We 
never  think  of  sleep  as  a  destructive  condition.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  constructive.  It  builds  up.  It  refreshes  and  restores.  The 
sick,  the  weary,  the  exhausted  do  well  when  they  sleep. 

All  this,  we  are  fully  persuaded,  is  eminently  true  of  what  we 
call  death,  viewed  from  the  Christian  standpoint. 

God  keeps  us  in  death.  Keeps  the  body;  not  the  corruptible 
body  that  is,  or  that  dies,  but  the  body  that  shall  be.  Each  one 
his  own  body ;  his  own,  proper,  identical  body. 

The  interim  between  death  and  the  resurrection  of  the  body 
is  not  a  period  of  stagnation;  not  an  absolute  cessation.  But  it 
is  a  time  of  life ;  a  condition  of  inner  growth ;  of  positive  develop- 
ment ;  a  state  of  preparation  and  progress  for  both  soul  and  body ; 
a  movement  of  the  whole  being  toward  the  goal  which  will  be 
reached  in  the  resurrection. 

y.  Sleep  and  Death  end  in  awaketning:  All  natural  sleep  ends 
in  awakening.  The  soul  flows  back  into  the  outer  courts  of  its 
tabernacles.  The  doors  of  the  senses  are  opened ;  the  curtains  are 
drawn  aside  from  the  windows ;  the  inner  life  looks  out  upon  the 
natural  world,  and  enters  into  the  enjoyment  of  it. 

Every  awakening  from  natural  sleep  is  a  beautiful  parable  of 
the  resurrection. 

Thanks  be  to  God  that  in  this  respect  especially  death  is  like 
sleep.  Death  does  not  end  all.  It  does  not  end  anything  except 
certain  outward  conditions.  Be  sure  that  you  learn  this  thor- 
oughly. Death  is  simply  transition.  First  a  going  from  the  outer 
to  the  inner;  then  a  returning  from  the  inner  to  the  outer  again. 
An  awakening,  a  coming  forth.  Not  a  coming  back  into  the  same 
conditions  precisely  as  was  the  case  with  this  maid  of  the  text,  but 
a  going  forth  into  new  and  higher  condition  of  real,  outward, 
objective  life. 


66 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


Oh,  what  a  thrilling  thought  is  this  of  the  resurrection !  What 
a  wonderful  thing  it  is  to  awaken  from  sleep !  How  vastly  more 
wonderful  to  awaken  from  death ! 

This  we  shall  do,  too,  as  certainly  as  we  do  the  other. 

When  the  Master  says  of  this  maid,  ''She  is  not  dead  but 
sleepeth,"  he  says  the  same  of  every  child  of  man.  Not  dead! 
not  dead!  no  one  is  dead,  any  more  than  the  ruler's  daughter 
was,  or  than  Lazarus  was ! 

Our  loved  ones  who  have  gone  from  us  are  not  dead.  They 
sleep.  And  if  they  sleep  in  Jesus  they  will  awaken  to  eternal  life. 

This  is  the  sweet  lesson  we  learn  here  at  the  house  of  Jairus, 
the  ruler  of  the  synagogue.  To  prove  his  word,  Jesus  took  the 
little  girl  by  the  hand !  told  her  to  arise,  and  she  was  restored  to 
life! 

It  is  an  exceedingly  important  thought  that  the  death-sleep 
must  be  either  in  Jesus  or  out  of  him. 

If  it  is  in  him,  the  awakening  will  be  to  life  and  blessedness. 
If  it  is  not  in  him,  the  awakening  rnust  be  to  a  condition  that  is 
death ;  to  a  living  condition  the  misery  and  wretchedness  of  which 
we  cannot  even  conceive,  much  less  describe;  but  this  seems  to 
be  a  feature,  or  characteristic,  of  that  death  to  which  the  lost 
awaken  from  the  death  that  is  like  sleep,  from  it  sleep  is  forever 
banished. 

They  that  reject  his  love,  and  disregard  the  overtures  of  his 
mercy,  and  live  unto  themselves,  and  imagine  that  they  are  suf- 
ficient unto  themselves,  are  doomed  to  dwell  in  darkness  without 
sleep,  but  ''God  giveth  his  beloved  sleep." 


GOD   IS   LOVE 

By  Rev.  W.  E.  Schramm 

*  'And  we  liave  known  and  believed  the  love  that  God  hath  to  us.  God 
is  love;  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  God  and  God  in  him.*'— 
I  John  4:  16. 

Occasion:  For  a  child 

Beloved  Brethren,  especially  dear  Parents  of  this  Sleeping  Child: 
Among  all  the  temporal  gifts  which  God  bestows  upon  us, 
there  is  none  to  which  our  hearts  cling  more  fondly  than  to  the 
children  with  which  he  has  blessed  us.    Dearer  far  than  wealth 
dearer  even  than  our  health,  are  these  little  ones  in  our  homes! 
And  when  these  precious  treasures  are  taken  from  us,  how  it 
tears  at  the  heart  to  give  them  up !  Your  loss,  my  dear  brethren 
IS  a  grievous  one.  In  this  sore  affliction  which  you  have  sustained,' 
you  have  the  deep  sympathy  of  your  brethren  and  friends.    We 
feel  for  you,  we  sorrow  with  you,  we  share  your  grief.   The  sym- 
pathy  of  brethren,   in  the   day   of  trial,   is  not  to   be   lightly 
esteemed.    This  fellow-feeling  has  indeed  a  soothing  effect.   But 
I  am  glad  that  I  have  something  still  more  effective  to  offer  you 
m  this  hour  as  a  balm  for  your  bleeding  hearts.   I  bring  you  not 
human  sympathy,  but  divine  comfort.   Heaven  has  the  only'real 
remedy  for  earth's  real  sorrows,  and  this  remedy  in  all  its  blessed 
fulness,  God  gives  us  in  his  Word.    From  this  unfailing  source  I 
bnng  you  a  message  of  consolation:  '       ' 

''God  Is  Love'* 

It  is  doubtful  if  there  are  three  words  in  any  language  which 
3onvey  a  greater  wealth  of  truth  than  is  contained  in  this  brief 

67 


68  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

text.  Familiar  words  they  are ;  so  familiar  that  they  are  in  danger 
of  being  regarded  as  commonplace  and  treated  with  a  lack  of 
appreciation.  May  the  Holy  Spirit  enable  us  to  delve  below  their 
mere  surface  in  order  that  our  souls  may  taste  the  sweet  comfort 
which  lies  therein. 

There  are  two  thoughts  concerning  the  love  of  God  which  I 
shall  try  to  impress  upon  your  hearts  in  this  hour  of  sorrow: 
The  first  is  that  God  laves  you;  the  second,  that  he  loves  your 
child. 

It  would  not  be  strange  if,  in  this  time  of  gloom,  you  should 
be  harassed  to  some  extent  by  temptations  to  doubt  the  love  of 
God.  Perplexities  doubtless  arise  in  your  minds,  and  human 
reason  cannot  dispel  them.  A  score  of  questions  may  clamor  for 
answers  which  human  wisdom  cannot  give.  ''If  God  loves  us, 
why  does  he  take  from  us  our  dearest  earthly  treasure?"  ''If 
God  loves  us,  why  does  he  break  down  the  one  barrier  which 
separates  us  from  a  childless  old  age?"  When  such  questions 
thrust  themselves  upon  you,  you  grope  in  vain  for  an  answer. 
You  cannot  explain  these  "why's"  and-  "wherefore's,"  and  1 
frankly  and  freely  admit  that  I  have  no  explanation  for  them. 
God  has  not  called  me  to  explain  the  mysteries  of  his  providence, 
but,  my  brethren,  he  has  called  me  to  declare  his  infinite  and  abid- 
ing love.  "God  is  love."  This  is  faith's  response  to  every  ques- 
tion of  an  anguished  and  perplexed  soul.  ' '  God  is  love. ' '  In  this 
mighty  ocean  of  truth  you  may  drown  your  every  troublesome 
doubt.  "God  is  love."  This  is  the  only  proper  antidote  for  the 
poison  of  Satan's  insinuations.  Therefore  when  the  grief  within 
us  is  bitter,  and  the  gloom  about  us  is  heavy,  let  us  hold  the 
more  firmly  to  the  precious  truth  that  God  loves  us. 

The  evidence  of  the  great  love  which  God  bears  to  us  is  by 
no  means  meager  or  uncertain.  Amply  sufficient  are  the  proofs 
upon  which  faith  may  lay  hold.  Both  in  God's  Word  and  in  his 
works  we  find  abundant  confirmation  of  this  truth.   Through  the 


GODISLOVE  69 

mouth  of  his  holy  prophets,  God  declares  that  he  loves  his  people 
with  an  everlasting  love.  The  life  and  death  of  Jesus  show  forth 
God's  love  with  marvelous  plainness.  Every  page  of  the  Gospels 
is  therefore  eloquent  with  this  truth,  but  it  seems  to  have  re- 
mained for  John,  the  great  apostle  of  love,  to  bring  to  a  climax 
all  these  declarations  and  affirm  that  ''God  is  love."  He  is  not 
only  loving  but  he  is  love.  His  very  essence,  his  very  nature,  is 
love.  Love  is  necessary  to  his  existence.  Without  love  he  would 
not  exist  as  God.  This  is  a  grand  truth.  It  is  a  comforting 
doctrine. 

And  now,  my  brethren,  I  wish  to  impress  upon  your  hearts 
the  fact  that  it  is  this  God  of  love  who  rules  and  reigns  over  us. 
It  is  this  same  God  of  love  who  permitted  sickness  to  enter  your 
home,  and  who  has  now  taken  your  child  unto  himself.  If  it 
were  an  enemy  who  hates  you,  who  has  brought  this  sorrow  upon 
you,  I  would  feel  that  there  is  little  that  I  could  do  but  to  sit 
down  and  weep  with  you,  but  it  is  the  hand  of  infinite  love, 
which  has  smitten  you.  That  thought  will  remove  the  sting  from 
your  sorrow ;  it  will  take  the  bitterness  out  of  your  tears.  If  your 
loving  Lord  has  done  it,  then  he  must  have  some  good  and  wise 
purpose  in  view.  Our  eyes  cannot  see  that  purpose,  ''for  now  we 
see  through  a  glass  darkly";  but  faith  trusts  God's  love,  come 
what  may  and  will  continue  to  trust  until  we  stand  in  his  pres- 
ence and  see  face  to  face. 

And  now  permit  me  to  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  the  thought, 
that  God  who  loves  you,  loves  also  your  child.  When  the  disci- 
ples of  old,  deeming  it  inconsistent  with  the  dignity  of  their 
Master  to  notice  children,  forbade  the  parents  who  brought  their 
babes  to  receive  his  blessing,  Jesus  expressed  his  indignation  at 
the  disciples'  interference.  He  then  showed  how  precious  these 
little  ones  are  in  his  sight,  by  taking  them  up  in  his  loving  arms, 
putting  his  hands  upon  them  and  blessing  them. 


70  FUNERALSERMONS 

God  also  showed  his  love  for  children  when  he  ordained  a 
sacrament  by  which  even  the  babes  may  become  partakers  of  his 
grace.  He  still  earnestly  desires  that  our  little  ones  shall  be 
brought  unto  him  and  he  has  given  us  Baptism  as  a  means 
whereby  they  may  receive  his  blessing.  By  this  sacrament  the 
children  of  men  become  the  children  of  God.  Cleansed  from  sin, 
they  are  planted  in  Christ  and  made  heirs  of  all  the  riches  and 
joys  of  heaven.  It  is  your  comfort,  dear  brethren,  to  know  that 
your  child  was  thus  blest.  In  her  tender  infancy  she  was  made  a 
lamb  of  the  Good  Shepherd's  flock.  You  need  have  no  misgiv- 
ings as  regards  her  place  in  eternity.  You  have  a  positive  assur- 
ance that  she  rests  in  the  arms  of  the  'Lord  who  loves  her,  for 
''he  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved."  In  the  home 
on  high  she  is  delivered  from  all  evil.  In  the  presence  of  her 
God  she  shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing 
shall  flee  away.  His  love  for  her  is  your  guarantee  that  it  is  well 
with  her. 

Therefore,  dearly  beloved,  the  assurance  of  God's  love  must 
be  to  you  a  solace  in  this  your  sorrow.  Hold  fast  to  this  knowl- 
edge with  an  unfaltering  faith.  Let  neither  the  tears  in  your 
eyes  nor  grief  in  your  hearts  obscure  from  your  vision  the  infinite 
love  of  your  Heavenly  Father.  I  pray  that  this  conviction  may 
temper  the  sadness  of  your  parting.  May  the  grace  be  yours  to 
wait  patiently  for  the  consummation  of  God's  plans.  In  a  little 
while  we  shall  join  our  loved  ones  and  in  the  courts  of  heaven  our 
voices  shall  mingle  with  theirs  in  everlasting  praises,  and  the 
theme  of  our  song  shall  be  this,  that  "God  is  love."  Amen. 


THE   SAVIOR'S  WORD   OF   COMFORT  TO   SORROWING 

PARENTS 

By  Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 

"So  Jesus  came  again  into  Cana  of  Galilee,  where  he  made  the  water 
wine.  And  there  was  a  certain  nobleman,  whose  son  was  sick  at  Caper- 
naimi.  When  he  heard  that  Jesus  had  come  out  of  Judea  into  Galilee,  he 
went  unto  him,  and  besought  him  that  he  would  come  down,  and  heal  his 
son:  for  he  was  at  the  point  of  death.  Then  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Except 
ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye  will  not  believe.  The  nobleman  said  unto 
him,  Sir,  come  down  ere  my  child  die.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Go  thy  way; 
thy  son  liveth.  And  the  man  believed  the  word  that  Jesus  had  spoken 
unto  htm,  and  went  his  way.  And  as  he  was  now  going  down,  his  servants 
met  him,  and  told  him,  saying,  Thy  son  liveth.  Then  enquired  he  of  them 
the  hour  when  he  began  to  amend.  And  they  said  unto  him.  Yesterday  at 
the  seventh  hour  the  fever  left  him.  So  the  father  knew  that  it  was  at  the 
same  hour,  in  the  which  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Thy  son  liveth:  and  himself 
believed,  and  his  whole  house." — John  4:  46-53. 

Occasion:  The  death  of  a  child 

Dearly  Beloved  in  the  Lord: 

Our  friends  are  in  deep  sorrow  today.  Their  once  happy 
home  has  been  turned  into  a  house  of  mourning.  When  in  sorrow, 
we  look  about  for  someone  to  comfort  us.  It  does  the  poor,  bleed- 
ing heart  good  to  know  that  someone  sympathizes  with  it.  But  a 
Christian  friend  has  more  than  mere  sympathy  to  offer  when  the 
?loom  of  sadness  overshadows  a  home ;  he  has  words  of  comfort. 
Let  me  today  lead  you  to  our  best  Friend,  the  Lord  Jesus,  our 
3lessed  Savior,  that  you  may  hear  from  his  holy  lips  a  word  of 
Jweet  comfort  which  shall  act  like  healing  ointment  on  the  pain- 
:ul  wound  which  the  death  of  your  beloved  child  has  iniaicted. 

71 


72  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

The  Savior's  Word  of  Comfort  to  Sorrowing  Parents 

I.  The  occasion  on  which  it  was  spoken. 
II.  The  word  itself,  and 
III.  The  spirit  in  which  it  was  received. 

I. 

In  the  city  of  Capernaum  there  lived  a  nobleman.  He  was 
married  and  had  a  family.  God  had  made  him  a  happy  husband 
and  father.  He  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  home.  A  happy  home  is 
the  fittest  type  of  heaven  on  earth.  There  are  no  sweeter  joys 
than  those  which  a  child  of  God  enjoys  in  the  bosom  of  a  Chris- 
tian family.  The  family  is  the  most  precious  thing  which  sinful 
man  has  saved  from  the  shipwreck  of  the  fall. 

But  sorrow  came  to  this  happy  home.  The  sun  of  prosperity 
was  darkened  by  the  clouds  of  adversity.  Sickness  with  all  its 
anxiety  made  its  appearance.  There  were  days  of  weary  labor 
and  nights  of  anxious  watching.  The  clouds  grew  thicker  and 
blacker  until  the  very  shadow  of  death  hung  over  this  once 
happy  home.  Every  effort  was  put  forth  to  stay  the  hand  of  the 
fell  destroyer.  What  human  wisdom  and  skill  could  do  was  done 
to  relieve  the  little  sufferer,  but  to  no  avail.  Day  after  day  and 
night  after  night  the  anxious  parents  hoped  and  prayed  and 
waited,  but  hour  by  hour  it  became  more  and  more  evident  that 
nothing  but  a  miracle  could  save  the  child.  Who  can  describe 
the  anxiety  which  lies  in  the  words:  ''Sir,  come  down  ere  my 
child  die"?  The  child's  life  hung  by  a  thread.  The  sands  were 
fast  running  through  the  hour-glass  and  any  moment  might  mark 
the  passing  of  the  last  grain.  If  the  child  had  once  closed  its  eyes 
in  death  all  hope  was  gone.  Only  where  there  is  life  is  there  hope. 

It  is  needless  for  me  to  remind  you  of  the  fact  that  this  home 
of  the  nobleman  at  Capernaum  is  a  type  of  your  own  home.  How 
happy  you  were  when  by  the  word  of  God  himself  you  were 


SAVIOR'S   WORD    OF    COMFORT    TO    PARENTS      73 

united  in  the  bonds  of  holy  wedlock.  As  husband  and  wife  you 
were  happy  in  each  other's  love.  There  was  no  dearer  spot  to 
you  on  earth  than  home,  sweet  home.  And  then  when  God  blessed 
you  with  a  child  the  cup  of  your  joy  seemed  full  to  overflowing. 
You  experienced  the  feelings  of  the  psalmist  when  he  says:  *'Lo, 
children  are  an  heritage  of  the  Lord  and  the  fruit  of  the  womb  is 
his  reward"  (Ps.  127:  3).  You  shared  the  joy  which  God  prom- 
ises them  that  fear  him  when  he  says:  ''Blessed  is  every  one 
that  feareth  the  Lord;  that  walketh  in  his  ways.  .  .  .  Thy 
wife  shall  be  as  a  fruitful  vine  by  the  sides  of  thine  house :  thy 
children  like  olive  plants  round  about  thy  table"  (Ps.  128:  1,  3). 

How  happy  you  were  when  in  the  sacrament  of  holy  Baptism 
you  could  lay  this  child  into  the  arms  of  the  Savior;  when  you 
had  the  assurance  that  he  had  received  it  as  a  lamb  into  his  fold ; 
that  it  was  now  a  member  of  his  spiritual  household,  the  church, 
and  was  in  the  possession  of  all  the  rich  gifts  which  the  Son  of 
God  died  to  secure  for  fallen  men;  that  having  been  conceived 
and  born  in  sin  it  was  now  regenerated  by  water  and  the  Spirit 
and  made  an  heir  of  God's  everlasting  glory.  Yes,  it  was  a 
happy  day  when  your  child  was  carried  by  its  sponsors  into  the 
house  of  God  to  be  given  and  dedicated  to  the  Lord  and  his 
service  forever. 

But  your  joy  was  seemingly  to  be  of  short  duration.  Only  too 
soon  were  you  to  experience  the  sad  fact  that  there  is  no  perfect 
joy  on  earth,  that  this  world  is  a  vale  of  tears.  Your  once  healthy 
child  took  sick,  and  with  its  sickness  came  days  of  anxiety  and 
nights  of  watching.  At  first  you  hoped  that  it  might  be  but  a 
slight  ailment,  but  only  too  soon  it  became  evident  that  the 
trouble  was  serious.  You  did  all  in  your  power  to  save  your 
child.  But  all  medical  attention  and  all  human  skill  could  not 
stay  the  hand  of  the  fell  destroyer.  Your  child's  last  hour  had 
come.  With  bated  breath  you  heard  its  last  expiring  sigh.  The 
little  heart  no  longer  beat.   Its  bright  eyes  were  closed  in  death. 


74  PUNERAL     SERMONS 

Its  little  form,  once  aglow  with  life  and  a  thing  of  beauty,  now 
rigid,  and  the  pallor  of  death  has  been  laid  upon  the  rosy  cheeks. 
Sorrow  soon  trod  on  the  heels  of  joy  and  your  happy  home  was 
turned  into  a  house  of  mourning.  Yes,  the  home  of  the  centurion 
is  a  picture  of  your  own  home  not  only  in  its  happiness,  but  also 
in  its  sorrow.  This  is  the  occasion  on  which  the  Savior  speaks 
his  word  of  comfort  to  sorrowing  parents.  Let  us  listen  to  this 
word. 

II. 

'*Thy  son  liveth."  This  word  occurs  three  times  in  our  text. 
A  strange  word  indeed !  When  the  father  left  home  his  child  was 
at  the  point  of  death.  He  scarcely  hoped  that  it  might  live  until 
he  could  fetch  the  Savior,  the  great  Physician,  who  had  helped 
so  many  in  their  afflictions  and  healed  them  of  their  diseases. 
And  now  he  hears  a  word  which  by  far  exceeds  his  fondest  hopes, 
yes,  his  most  fervent  expectations.  If  the  Savior,  who  knew  all 
things,  had  said :  "It  is  too  late,  your  son  is  now  dead.  If  you  had 
come  earlier  I  might  have  helped  him,"  the  sorrowing  father 
would  not  have  been  surprised.  But  he  hears  the  very  opposite. 
"Thy  son  liveth."  The  disease  has  left  him.  He  is  saved  from 
death.  He  is  restored  to  health  and  strength.  The  clouds  have 
dispersed  and  the  sun  of  happiness  again  shines  over  your  home. 
Your  tears  of  sorrow  may  be  turned  into  those  of  joy.  Sighs  and 
groans  may  give  place  to  shouts  of  exultation  and  peals  of 
laughter. 

Can  you  imagine  these  words  of  the  Savior  spoken  to  you  on 
this  occasion?  "Thy  son  liveth."  And  they  are  true  in  the  case 
of  your  child,  just  as  true  as  they  were  when  spoken  of  the  child 
of  the  nobleman.  The  soul  of  your  child  has  not  died.  It  has  only 
been  temporarily  separated  from  the  body.  It  is  with  the  Lord 
in  glory.  Jesus  has  taken  your  child  to  himself.  "Where  I  am 
there  shall  also  my  servant  be"  {John  12:  26).   He  is  the  good 


SAVIOR'S  WORD  OF  COMFORT  TO  PARENTS   75 

Shepherd  of  whom  the  prophet  says:  ''He  shall  feed  his  flock 
like  a  shepherd:  and  shall  gather  the  lambs  with  his  arms  and 
carry  them  in  his  bosom"  (Isa.  40:  11).  When  the  soul  of  your 
child  left  its  tenement  of  clay  it  was  carried  by  the  angels  into 
Abraham's  bosom.  Death  is  no  more  death  to  those  who  die  in 
the  Lord.  When  they  die  they  in  reality  only  begin  rightly  to 
live.  We  are  baptized  for  the  remission  of  sins  (Acts  2:  38).  The 
sting  of  death  is  sin.  Sin  is  really  what  makes  death  terrible. 
But  where  sin  is  forgiven  why  should  we  fear  to  die,  or  weep  and 
lament  when  our  loved  ones  die  ?  Death  only  removes  them  from 
a  world  of  sin  and  sorrow  to  one  of  holiness  and  happiness.  You 
have  every  reason  for  thinking  of  your  child  as  being  in  heaven, 
in  Paradise.  Oh,  if  we  could  but  realize  how  happy  they  are  in 
the  presence  of  God,  in  the  company  of  angels  and  saints,  how 
soon  the  fountain  of  our  tears  would  dry  up. 

And  even  with  reference  to  the  poor,  wasted  body  of  your 
child  these  words  of  the  Savior:  ''Thy  son  liveth,"  have  a  com- 
forting meaning.  In  due  time  this  body  shall  rise  again.  It  also 
shall  eventually  live,  though  for  a  time  it  must  return  to  dust 
and  ashes.  We  look  for  a  general  resurrection  of  the  dead  at  the 
last  day.  Then  shall  the  dead  in  Christ  arise  in  glorified  bodies 
to  life  and  immortalit5^  0  how  beautiful  our  children  will  be  on 
that  day  when  their  resurrected  bodies  shall  be  fashioned  after 
the  glorified  body  of  the  risen  Savior !  There  is  nothing  so  lovely 
in  this  world  as  a  little  child,  but  how  much  more  lovely  will 
they  be  on  that  day  when  they  stand  before  us  in  the  renewed 
image  of  God  both  as  to  body  and  soul. 

The  Savior  said  to  the  nobleman:  "Go  thy  way."  Go  home, 
go  back  to  your  family.  Cease  your  fretting  and  lamenting. 
There  is  no  longer  any  reason  for  mourning.  Go  about  your  work 
as  though  nothing  had  happened.  The  cause  for  your  anxiety  has 
been  removed,  let  the  effect  also  be  gone. 


76 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


And  to  you  also  he  says :  ' '  Go  your  way. ' '  Do  not  give  way  to 
over  much  sorrow.  Dry  your  tears.  Do  not  act  as  though  all  were 
lost.  Let  not  despair  take  hold  of  your  sorrowing  heart.  Weep 
not  as  those  who  have  no  hope.  Think  of  your  child  not  as  in  the 
grave  but  as  in  heaven,  not  as  a  prey  to  corruption  but  as  it  will 
appear  on  the  glorious  mourn  of  the  resurrection. 

III. 

And  now  let  me  show  you  in  the  third  place  the  spirit  in 
which  this  comforting  word  of  the  Savior  was  received.  This  word 
of  the  Savior  sounds  foolish  to  human  reason.  The  nobleman  had 
just  left  his  child  a  few  hours  ago  at  the  point  of  death.  It  was  a 
question  whether  in  the  mean  time  it  had  not  passed  away.  Jesus 
did  not  even  offer  to  go  with  the  anxious  father  and  lay  his  hands 
upon  the  dying  child.  Much  less  did  he  give  him  medicine,  salve 
or  ointment  to  use  for  its  betterment.  He  simply  spoke  the  word : 
"Thy  son  liveth."  Had  the  nobleman  followed  his  reason  he 
would  have  said  to  himself  at  least,  if  not  to  the  Savior:  I  am 
sadly  disappointed.  The  Master  will  not  even  condescend  to  go 
with  me  to  look  at  my  dying  child.  I  will  go  home  and  submit 
to  the  inevitable. 

Much  the  same  way  you  must  regard  this  word  of  the  Savior 
if  you  simply  follow  human  reason.  When  you  hear  the  word: 
''Thy  son  liveth,"  your  reason  says:  I  know  better,  my  son  is 
dead.  I  saw  him  close  his  eyes  in  death.  I  watched  his  last 
expiring  breath.  I  felt  his  ice-cold  hands.  I  laid  my  hand  on  his 
brow  on  which  stood  the  death  sweat.  I  kissed  his  lifeless  lips. 
There  is  no  doubt  about  it :  he  is  dead  and  we  must  bury  him  for 
his  body  will  soon  begin  to  mortify  and  decay.  Everything  that 
your  eyes  see  and  your  hands  feel  and  all  your  senses  perceive 
indicates  that  your  child  is  not  alive  but  dead. 

And  yet  what  do  we  read  of  the  nobleman?  He  took  reason 
captive  under  faith.    ''And   the   man  believed   the   word  that 


SAVIOR'S  WORD  OF  COMFORT  TO  PARENTS   77 

Jesus  had  spoken  unto  him,  and  went  his  way. ' '  His  faith  clung 
to  the  Savior's  word  in  spite  of  human  reason.  He  based  his 
hopes  not  on  what  he  had  seen  with  his  own  eyes  but  on  what 
the  Savior  told  him.  Jesus'  word  was  surer  to  him  even  than 
the  evidence  of  his  own  senses.  His  eyes  or  his  hands  might 
deceive  him,  but  Jesus  could  never  deceive  him.  He  was  posi- 
tively sure  that  his  son  was  alive  and  well  because  Jesus  said  so. 

Oh,  that  you  might  also  have  such  a  faith  in  the  truth  of  the 
Savior's  word  in  this  sad  hour.  ''Commit  thy  way  unto  the 
Lord;  trust  also  in  him;  and  he  shall  bring  it  to  pass"  (Ps.  37: 
5).  We  Christians  are  to  live  by  faith  and  not  by  sight.  ''Abra- 
ham believed  God  and  it  was  accounted  unto  him  for  righteous- 
ness" (Rom.  4:3).  He  trusted  God  against  reason  and  was  not 
disappointed.   "It  is  impossible  for  God  to  lie"  (Heb.  6:  18). 

The  nobleman's  faith  made  him  happy.  Even  before  he 
reached  home  he  had  the  joyful  assurance  that  his  child  was 
alive  and  in  good  health.  How  much  happier  he  was  on  his  way 
home  than  when  he  left  it.  The  clouds  of  sorrow  were  gone. 
His  heart  was  full  of  cheerful  hope,  of  blessed  assurance.  He 
surely  went  on  his  way  rejoicing.  And  so  your  sorrow  will  give 
place  to  joy  if  you  believe  the  Savior's  word  and  put  your  trust 
in  his  promises.  The  firmer  your  faith  the  greater  your  joy.  The 
comforting  words  of  the  Savior  will  avail  you  nothing  without 
faith.  At  first  the  nobleman's  faith  was  weak.  He  felt  that  the 
Savior  must  come  down  to  his  house  and  lay  his  hand  upon  the 
dying  child  if  any  good  was  to  be  accomplished.  Jesus  rebuked 
him  for  this  weakness:  "Except  ye  see  signs  and  wonders,  ye  will 
not  believe."  But  the  man's  faith  grew  in  his  intercourse  with 
Jesus.  If  you  feel  that  your  faith  is  weak  ask  God  to  strengthen 
it.  And  here  also  will  be  fulfilled  the  promise:  "Ask  and  it  shall 
be  given  you ;  seek  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you"  (Matt.  7:7). 


73  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

Then  finally  let  us  note  that  what  the  nobleman  believed,  he 
in  due  time  also  saw  with  his  own  eyes.  Even  on  his  way  home 
his  servants  met  him  with  the  joyiul  message:  ''Thy  son  liveth." 
And  when  he  reached  home  his  eyes  saw  what  he  had  so  firmly  be- 
lieved. He  saw  his  dear  child  restored  to  health  and  strength. 
He  took  him  up  in  his  arms,  kissed  him  and  thanked  God  for  his 
wonderful  deliverance. 

And  you  too  shall  at  last  see  what  you  now  believe.  Yes,  our 
faith  shall  in  due  time  be  changed  into  sight.  AVe  hope  to  see  our 
loved  ones  again  and  this  hope  will  not  be  disappointed.  They 
have  gone  before  and  we  shall  follow  in  God's  own  time.  Oh, 
what  a  joyful  reunion  that  will  be  when  we  meet  before  the 
throne  of  God  in  the  New  Jerusalem,  to  be  forcA^er  with  the 
Lord ! 

''Why  should  I  shrink  at  pain  and  woe. 
Or  feel  at  death  dismay? 
I've  Canaan's  goodly  land  in  view, 
And  realms  of  endless  joy."    Amen. 


JESUS   LOVETH  LITTLE  OmLDREN 
By  Rev.  M.  R.  Walter 

"He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd:  he  shall  gather  the  lamhs 
with  his  arms  and  carry  them  In  his  hosom    .    .    .'* — Isaiah  40:  11. 

Occasion:  For  a  child 

The  loving  Saviour  tells  us  that  he  is  the  Good  Shepherd.  He 
calls  all  the  true  believers  his  sheep.  As  the  Good  Shepherd,  he 
loves  his  flock.  He  knows  every  sheep  in  his  flock  by  name. 
There  is  not  a  single  one  that  he  neglects ;  he  loves  each  one  and 
leads  it  upon  green  pastures  and  besides  still  waters.  He  watches 
over  its  welfare ;  cares  for  its  wants  and  when  the  day  of  life  is 
spent,  will  take  it  to  his  fold  above. 

There  is  comfort  for  us  in  this  assurance,  that  we  are  not  left 
to  our  own  strength  and  resources,  but  that  the  Savior  who 
plans  and  executes  his  gracious  will  for  our  eternal  good  does  all 
this  through  his  love  for  us.  He  watches  and  renders  care  over 
us.  He  guides  and  leads  us  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  for  his 
name's  sake.  When  trials  beset  us,  even  to  the  passing  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  we  need  fear  no  evil  because 
he  has  promised  to  be  with  us  to  sustain  and  comfort  us,  to  fill 
our  souls  to  overflowing  with  his  gifts  of  Grace.  Many  are  they 
whom  he  has  led  through  the  Gospel  by  the  Holy  Spirit  up  the 
narrow  path,  through  the  heavenly  portals  into  the  Father's 
house.  Prophets,  Evangelists,  Apostles  and  all  the  other  saints 
of  the  past,  of  the  old  and  the  new  covenants,  have  entered  into 
eternal  bliss  through  the  love  of  Christ  shed  abroad  in  their 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

79 


I 


80 


rUNERAL     SERMONS 


For  you  too,  dear  parents,  there  is  comfort  in  this  dispensa- 
tion of  God  by  which  your  little  daughter  was  taken  from  you. 
True,  her  history  is  short.  Only  six  short  months  were  you  to 
keep  your  firstborn,  your  little  Leonora.  Your  plans  and  antici- 
pations and  hopes  entertained  for  her  future,  have  been  shat- 
tered. Yet  as  Christian  parents,  the  one  great  hope  is  yours,  hope 
that  present  in  a  believer's  heart,  becomes  a  certainty  by  faith 
in  God's  "Word,  which  assures  us  that  Jesus  loveth  little  children, 
for  he  has  said,  of  such,  like  little  Leonora,  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven.  Those  little  saints  have  a  far  better  future  than  we  can 
plan  and  construct. 

When  3^our  child  was  but  a  few  days  old  you  gave  her  to 
Jesus  in  Holy  Baptism.  You  laid  her  in  his  arms  for  him  to  bless. 
Again  he  has  come  to  your  home  and  has  gathered  her  in  his 
arms  to  carry  her  in  his  bosom  to  the  fold  above  where  she  shall, 
with  the  bright  angels,  worship  God  forever  more. 

From  the  words  of  the  text  it  is  clearly  shown  that : 

Jesus  Loveth  Little  Children 

I.  It  is  a  certainty  that  Jesus  loveth  little  children:  Jesus 
says,  ''I  am  the  Good  Shepherd."  A  good  shepherd  loves  every 
sheep  in  his  flock  and  cares  for  it.  But  he  takes  special  interest  in 
the  lambkin.  While  it  is  still  young  and  weak  he  carries  it  in 
his  arms ;  when  it  is  hungry,  he  feeds  it ;  when  it  is  cold  he  warms 
it  in  his  bosom,  just  as  the  text  here  says  that  Jesus  does  for  the 
child  given  to  him. 

Lobk  at  the  example  recorded  in  the  Gospel.  ''And  they 
brought  young  children  to  him,  that  he  should  touch  them:  and 
the  disciples  rebuked  those  that  brought  them.  But  when  Jesus 
saw  it,  he  was  much  displeased,  and  said  unto  them.  Suffer  the 
children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not:  for  of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  Whosoever  shall  not 


JESUS  LOVETH  LITTLE  CHILDREN        gl 

receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter 
therein.  And  he  took  them  up  in  his  arms,  put  his  hands  upon 
them,  and  blessed  them."  It  was  the  same  assurance,  dear  par- 
ents, that  Jesus  gave  you  when  you  brought  little  Leonora  unto 
him  in  baptism — ' '  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God. ' ' 

Although  your  hearts  are  sad  and  depressed,  yet  you  know 
from  the  Gospel  that  this  is  a  blessed  truth  that  Jesus  loves  the 
little  ones,  so  that  as  Christian  parents  you  know  that  your  child 
is  in  the  care  of  a  loving  Savior. 

In  the  old  covenant  God  claimed  the  children  of  the  Hebrews 
dedicated  unto  him  as  heirs  of  promise  and  possessions  of  the 
covenant  grace.  How  well  Hannah  understood  a  parent's  duty 
when  she  dedicated  her  infant  son  unto  God.  God  received  the 
child  as  a  son  in  the  kingdom  of  Grace.  So  today,  God  receives 
every  child  dedicated  unto  him  through  Christ  in  Holy  Baptism ; 
which  applies  by  the  promises  of  God,  the  grace  of  regeneration 
in  the  little  one's  soul,  making  it  fit  for  heaven.  Our  baptized 
children  are  members  of  our  congregations,  and  saints  in  the 
great  church  of  Christ. 

In  reply  to  the  disciples'  question:  "Who  is  the  greatest  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven?"  Jesus  called  a  little  child  unto  him, 
and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  said:  "Verily  I  say  unto 
you.  Except  ye  be  converted,  and  become  as  little  children,  ye 
shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. ' '  Of  such  little  ones 
Jesus  also  says:  "Wlioso  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones 
which  believe  in  me,  it  were  better  that  a  millstone  were  hanged 
about  his  neck  and  that  he  were  drowned  in  the  depth  of  the 
sea."  God  takes  special  care  of  his  little  saints.  He  lovingly 
watches  over  them  to  bless  and  preserve  them.  In  speaking  of 
these  blessed  children  in  God's  Kingdom  on  earth,  Christ  admon- 
ishes: "Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones; 
for  I  say  unto  you,  That  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always  behold 
the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."    With  such  testi- 


82  FUNERALSERMONS 

mony  of  Christ,  liow  can  we  doubt  that  Jesus  loveth  little  chil- 
dren and  that  he  came  to  be  their  Savior  too?  Whatever  assur- 
ance is  given  for  the  love  of  Christ  toward  adults  is  also  to  be 
applied  to  the  little  ones  in  the  Christian  home.  The  promise  of 
eternal  life  to  us  is  also  a  promise  to  our  children.  God  does  not 
want  only  grown  people  in  his  church,  but  like  a  good  shepherd 
that  he  is,  he  wants  the  lambs  of  the  flock  to  be  gathered  into 
his  fold. 

On  the  great  day  of  Pentecost  when  the  disciples  were  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  of  Christ,  the  people  cried  out  in  anxiety  for  their 
souls '  salvation :  ' '  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  ? "  ' '  Then 
Peter  said  unto  them,  Repent,  and  be  baptized  everyone  of  you 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye 
shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  this  promise  is  unto 
you  and  to  your  children."  To  our  children,  too,  the  washing 
of  regeneration  in  Holy  Baptism  is  given  as  the  promise  on 
Pentecost  declares,  and  to  our  children,  too,  the  love  of  Christ 
is  revealed.  True,  loving,  Christian  parents  realize  their  obli- 
gation to  dedicate  their  babes  to  Christ  and  to  strive  to  bring 
them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  Christ  had 
the  little  ones  in  remembrance  just  before  he  ascended  to  heaven, 
for  he  gave  this  commandment  of  love:  ''Peed  my  lambs!"  That 
command  is  given  to  us.  It  means  that  we  should  give  our  babes 
to  God  in  baptism  and  that  we  also  promise  to  lead  and  guide 
and  instruct  them  in  the  precious  truths  of  the  Gospel  as  they 
increase  in  age  that  they  may  grow  in  grace'  and  the  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  so  that  when  God  calls  them  from  us 
into  eternity  we  may  have  the  assurance  that, 

II.  It  is  a  comfort  that  Jesus  loveth  little  children:  Were 
death  to  end  our  existence  and  the  grave  to  be  the  only  future, 
then  life  would  not  be  worth  living.  There  would  be  no  comfort 
to  dispense  at  funerals,  no  pointing  to  the  heavenly  home  where 
Christians  shall  meet  and  never  part  again.   There  would  be  no 


JESUS  LOVETH  LITTLE   CHILDREN  §3 

hope  for  bereaved  parents  as  they  stand  beside  the  empty  cradle 
with  hearts  well-nigh  broken,  because  a  loved  child  has  died. 
What  a  terrible  situation  to  have  no  God  nor  hope  of  heaven! 

But  we  thank  God  who  has  revealed  himself  unto  us  in  his 
Word,  and  that  he  has  given  us  the  assurance  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  and  promise  of  everlasting  joy  and  bliss  to  all  those 
who  die  blessed  in  the  Lord.  Yet  we  are  so  constituted  that  we 
mourn  and  weep  when  death  comes  to  our  homes  and  the  life 
of  a  dear  one  is  taken  away.  This  is  because  death  is  the  wages 
of  sin.  Although  we  are  assured  that  Christ  has  taken  away  the 
sting  of  death  and  has  won  victory  over  the  grave,  yet  in  our 
weakness  we  mourn  when  our  friends  die.  But  as  children  of  God 
"we  mourn  not  as  others,  which  have  no  hope."  God  does  not 
censure  us  for  weeping  at  the  grave.  Jesus  in  sympathy  for 
Mary  and  Martha  wept  at  the  grave  of  his  friend  Lazarus,  al- 
though he  was  about  to  recall  him  to  life.  God  would  have  our 
mourning  and  lamentation  to  be  tempered  with  the  sure  hope 
in  the  promises  of  his  word  that  speak  to  us  in  sure  tones  of 
the  redemption  in  Christ  and  the  eternal  home  where  the  blessed 
dwell  with  Christ  forever  more.  He  has  said,  "I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you,  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also."  Jesus 
means  by  ''ye"  you  and  your  children.  He  has  prepared  man- 
sions for  us  in  heaven  that  cannot  be  compared  to  things  of  this 
world.  The  beauties  of  the  kingdoms  and  empires  of  this  world 
shall  all  fade  away,  but  the  glories  of  heaven  shall  remain  for- 
ever. The  habitations  of  God's  saints  above  are  founded  on  the 
Kock  of  Ages.  To  those  mansions,  the  heavenly  fold,  Jesus  car- 
ries in  his  arms,  pressed  to  his  bosom,  the  little  children,  the 
lambs  of  his  fold  that  he  takes  out  of  our  homes  through  death. 

Oh,  what  glory!  Oh,  what  bliss!  Oh,  what  joy  to  be  a  babe 
in  Jesus'  arms  to  be  borne  away  to  where  there  is  no  sickness, 
pain  nor  sin;  where  there  is  no  darkness,  woe  nor  death,  but 


84  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

where  all  is  perfection  and  perpetual  happiness  in  the  presence 
of  God,  It  is  there  we  hope — and  it  won't  be  long — to  meet 
those  who  have  gone  before,  for  you,  dear  parents,  to  meet 
your  little  daughter  among  the  blessed.  From  whence  do  we 
receive  such  comfort?  Not  from  the  world,  for  the  world  knows 
not  God.  Not  from  our  works,  for  we  are  sinful  and  cannot  merit 
salvation.  The  love  and  merits  of  Christ  alone  is  the  ground  of 
our  hope  for  redemption.  But  on  what  is  our  hope  for  the 
salvation  of  this  little  one  based?  Sentimentalism  will  claim  that 
she  was  innocent,  hence  is  saved.  But  if  innocent  why  did  she 
die?  Was  she  too  not  born  in  sin  and  iniquity,  a  heritage  of  our 
sinful  race,  and  hence  an  heir  to  death  as  the  cold  form  before  us 
proves?  No!  No,  we  don't  want  sentimentalism  for  our  comfort 
here.  We  want  the  truth,  the  consolation  of  the  Gospel,  that 
sweet  story  of  old,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  to  seek  and  to  save 
all  the  human  race.  We  want  the  comfort  that  is  found  in  the 
wounds  of  Jesus.  We  want  the  comfort  that  is  based  on  his  love. 
It  is  this  comfort  that  the  word  brings  you  today.  We  believe  that 
little  Leonora  is  saved,  but  saved  by  the  love  of  Christ  by  which 
he  redeemed  her  by  his  death  on  the  cross  and  has  arrayed  her 
in  a  robe  of  his  own  spotless  righteousness.  Such  comfort  is  no 
idle  guess  work,  but  the  clear  declaration  of  the  Gospel.  There 
is  not  one  salvation  for  grown  people  and  another  kind  of  sal- 
vation for  infants.  All  the  blessed,  old  and  young,  are  saved 
by  the  same  loving  Savior,  with  the  same  costly  price,  not  gold 
or  silver,  but  the  innocent  suffering  and  death  of  our  blessed 
Eedeemer.  Our  comfort  is  this,  that  Jesus  cleanses  the  souls  of 
our  children  with  his  redeeming  blood,  washing  away  all  guilty 
stains  from  their  souls.  Could  we  ask  for  greater  comfort  than 
this  today,  that  Jesus  so  loves  little  children  that  he  died  for 
them  that  they  might  be  in  his  kingdom?  This  is  the  consolation 
tendered  you  now.  It  is  this  one  salvation  that  is  offered  to  all, 
for  Christ  died  once  for  all. 


JESUS  LOVETH   LITTLE   CHILDREN  35 

This  salvation  is  assured  to  those  that  have  Christ  by  faith,  faith 
like  that  which  a  little  child  may  possess  through  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  by  the  Word  of  God.  The  Word  of  God  in  Holy 
Baptism  gives  the  promise  to  the  little  ones.  God's  Word  then 
is  our  comfort,  showing  us  how  Jesus  takes  the  lambs  in  his  arms 
and  carries  them  in  his  bosom.  Would  we  have  a  share  in  that 
hope  of  life  eternal,  then  we  must  be  saved,  just  as  little  babes 
are  saved,  by  the  love  of  Christ.  He  says:  "Whosoever  shall  not 
receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child  shall  not  enter 
therein." 

May  God  grant  us  hearts  and  minds  like  unto  little  children 
in  things  pertaining  to  our  salvation;  that  we  may  put  all  our 
trust  and  hope  in  the  loving  Savior,  that  we  may  share  in  his 
love  for  little  children.  Then  when  our  last  hour  shall  come  we 
may  with  childlike  faith  look  unto  Jesus  to  gather  us  in  his  arms 
and  carry  us  in  his  bosom  as  a  child  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
Amen. 


THE  SORROW  OF  CHRISTIAN  PARENTS   OVER  THE 
DEATH  OF  A  BELOVED  CHILD 

By  Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 

"And  Jacob  rent  his  clothes,  and  put  sackcloth  upon  his  loins,  and 
mourned  for  his  son  many  days.  And  all  his  sons  and  all  his  daughters 
rose  up  to  comfort  him;  but  he  refused  to  he  comforted;  and  he  said.  For 
I  will  go  down  into  the  grave  unto  my  son  mourning.  Thus  his  father 
wept  for  him.  And  the  Midianites  sold  him  (Joseph)  into  Egypt  unto 
Potiphar,  an  officer  of  Pharaoh's,  and  a  captain  of  the  guard." — Gen. 
37:  34-36. 

Occasion :  On  the  death  of  a  child 

Mourning  Friends: 

St.  Paul  writes  to  the  Tliessalonians  in  his  first  epistle,  chap- 
ter four:  *'I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  con- 
cerning them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not  even  as  others 
which  have  no  hope."  A  Christian  may  mourn  when  death  robs 
him  of  his  loved  ones.  He  is  still  flesh  and  blood,  and  it  is  not  an 
easy  matter  to  give  up  our  dearest  treasures  on  earth.  It  is  but 
natural  for  us  to  weep  when  we  bury  our  own  flesh  and  blood. 
But  in  this  sorrow  a  Christian  should  not  act  as  though  he  had 
no  hope.  "We  should  not  act  like  the  heathen  who  know  not  God 
and  the  life  of  the  world  to  come  prepared  for  us  in  Christ. 

But  it  is  often  hard  for  a  Christian  to  rejoice  over  the  blessed 
hope  which  the  Gospel  offers.  Gladly  would  he  bid  adieu  to  all 
sorrow  and  thank  God  for  his  wonderful  mercy  which  enables 
him  to  hope  for  the  salvation  of  those  who  die  in  the  Lord ;  but 
ever  and  anon  he  is  downhearted  when  he  looks  upon  the  pale 
countenances  of  the   dead,   and  touches  their  icy  hands.    The 


SORROW  OF  PARENTS  OVER  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD      §7 

spirit  indeed  is  willing  but  the  flesh  is  weak.  The  clouds  of 
adversity  are  constantly  overshadowing  the  sun  of  God's  grace. 
This,  no  doubt,  my  beloved,  is  your  experience  today  beside 
the  coffin  of  your  beloved  child.  Gladly  would  you  wipe  away 
your  tears,  cease  your  weeping  and  rejoice  over  the  blessed  hope 
of  eternal  life;  but  it  is  difficult  for  the  poor  heart  to  compose 
itself.  Your  experience  is  like  that  of  the  patriarch  Jacob  in  our 
text.  Let  me  on  the  basis  of  the  story  of  Jacob's  sorrow  for  his 
child  which  he  mourned  as  dead  speak  to  you  of 

The  Sorrow  of  Christian  Parents  over  the  Death  of  a  Beloved 

Child 

Permit  me  to  show  you: 

I.  How  Jacob  mourned  over  the  death  of  his  child  and  yet 

it  lived. 
II.  He  mourned  over  the  unsearchable  providences  of  God 

and  yet  it  was  all  for  his  good. 
III.  He  mourned  over  the  pangs  of  separation  and  yet  there 
was  in  store  a  joyful  reunion. 

I. 

You  know  the  story  of  our  text.  Joseph's  brethren,  moved  by 
envy  and  hatred,  had  sold  him  into  slavery.  They  sent  his  coat  of 
many  colors,  blood-stained,  to  their  father  with  the  message: 
"This  have  we  found:  know  now  whether  it  be  thy  son's  coat  or 
no."  From  this  Jacob  could  not  but  conclude  that  his  child  had 
fallen  prey  to  some  ravenous  beast.  He  mourned  his  son  as  dead. 
*'It  is  my  son's  coat;  an  evil  beast  hath  devoured  him;  Joseph 
without  doubt  is  rent  in  pieces,"  are  his  sad  words.  *'And  Jacob 
rent  his  clothes,  and  put  sackcloth  upon  his  loins,  and  mourned 
for  his  son  many  days. ' '  Yes,  so  great  was  his  sorrow  that  he  re- 


gg  rUNERAL     SERMONS 

fused  to  be  comforted.  ''All  his  sons  and  all  his  daughters  rose 
up  to  comfort  him ;  but  he  refused  to  be  comforted ;  and  he  said, 
For  I  will  go  down  into  the  grave  unto  my  son  mourning." 
This  awful  loss  seemed  more  than  he  could  bear.  Every  effort  to 
assuage  his  sorrow  proved  fruitless.  Yes,  he  seemed  to  have  lost 
all  interest  in  life,  and  only  waited  for  death  to  reunite  him  with 
his  child. 

And  who  can  describe  your  sorrow,  beloved  friends,  as  you 
today  mourn  the  death  of  your  promising  child?  Only  a  father 
or  mother  who  have  themselves  experienced  such  losses  can  re- 
alize your  suffering.  Our  children  are  our  heart's  treasures,  and 
it  is  like  giving  up  a  part  of  our  very  lives  when  they  die.  0  who 
can  depict  the  anguish  which  pierces  the  hearts  of  parents  when 
death  as  a  ruthless  foe  before  their  very  eyes  crushes  the  life  out 
of  a  dear  child  and  they  stand  by  unable  to  prevent  the  awful 
calamity.  Step  by  step  the  work  of  destruction  goes  on  until  life 
has  been  extinguished. 

And  yet  Joseph  was  not  dead  but  alive  in  a  far-off  land.  The 
sons  of  Jacob  had  practised  a  cruel  deception  upon  their  father. 
His  favorite  son  whom  he  mourned  as  dead  was  hale  and  hearty. 
God  was  with  him.  Even  if  at  first  he  was  compelled  to  suffer 
much  shame  and  abuse,  hatred  and  slander,  yet  the  almighty  God 
led  him  through  darkness  to  light,  from  slavery  to  liberty,  out  of 
prison  to  a  seat  of  honor  beside  the  king.  Oh,  if  Jacob  could 
have  surmised  this ;  if  he  could  have  cast  but  one  look  upon  the 
future  glory  of  his  child,  how  soon  would  his  sobs  have  been 
hushed,  and  his  tears  of  sorrow  turned  into  tears  of  joy. 

And  is  not  your  case  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  despairing 
patriarch?  You  mourn  your  child  as  dead  and  behold  it  lives! 
Does  not  the  Savior  say  of  our  children  whom  we  have  brought 
to  him  in  holy  Baptism,  "of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven"? 
But  God's  kingdom  is  not  temporal  but  eternal.  Does  he  not  say: 
*'He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved"?  Your  child 


SORROW  OF  PARENTS  OVER  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD      gQ 

too  was  baptized  ''for  the  forgiveness  of  sin."  In  Baptism  it  put 
on  Christ.  Through  this  holy  sacrament  it  was  regenerated  and 
made  a  child  of  God  and  an  heir  of  glory.  The  difference  between 
you  and  Jacob  is  this:  he  did  not  know  that  Joseph  was  yet 
alive,  but  you  know  that  your  child  lives.  Oh,  if  you  could  but 
cast  one  glance  into  that  blessed  life  into  which  your  child  has 
entered  you  would  no  longer  mourn  its  loss  but  rather  rejoice 
that  it  so  soon  reached  that  perfect  heavenly  glory  for  which 
God  designed  it. 

II. 

What  a  severe  affliction  to  Jacob  was  the  separation  from  his 
child.  It  must  have  appeared  to  him  about  the  worst  thing  that 
could  have  happened  to  him  in  his  old  age.  Joseph  was  his  fav- 
orite child.  He  was  the  son  of  his  old  age,  the  son  of  his  beloved 
Eachel.  No  doubt  the  pious  disposition  of  Joseph  was  a  great 
source  of  pleasure  to  his  father.  Amidst  all  the  heartaches  and 
provocations  which  he  experienced  on  the  part  of  his  other  boys, 
it  was  a  great  comfort  to  him  that  this  youngest  did  not  walk 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  wicked  brethren.  No  doubt  the  rich  meas- 
ure of  the  Spirit  of  God  which  was  given  Joseph  showed  itself 
early  in  him  and  Jacob's  whole  heart  clung  to  the  child.  And 
now  he  was  called  on  to  give  up  this  very  boy.  How  much  easier 
it  would  have  been  to  lose  any  other  one  of  his  children.  "Why 
must  it  be  Joseph,  the  treasure  of  his  heart? 

Add  to  this  the  supposed  manner  of  his  death.  If  the  child 
had  died  at  home  in  the  arms  of  its  father  it  would  have  been 
easier  to  bear,  but  the  fact  that  he  died,  who  knows  where,  was 
too  much.  If  he  had  died  a  natural  death,  but  to  have  him  torn 
in  pieces  and  devoured  by  a  ferocious  beast,  oh,  how  horrible! 
If  Jacob  had  had  the  privilege  of  giving  his  child  a  decent,  honor- 
able burial,  but  that  now  his  bones  lay  bleaching  in  the  sun, 
God  only  knows  where,  how  terrible !    Jacob  may  in  his  sore 


90  FUNERALSERMONS 

distress  have  thought  and  said:  Why  does  God  allow  such  an 
awful  visitation  to  come  upon  me  in  my  old  age? 

And  no  doubt  many  similar  questions  to  which  reason  gives 
no  answer  crowd  in  on  you  today.  Why  must  we  suffer  such  a 
loss  ?  Why  must  this  child  die  ?  Why  must  it  have  so  painful  a 
death?  Why  was  it  taken  from  us  so  suddenly?  In  short  the 
whole  providence  of  God  in  this  occurrence  is  beyond  comprehen- 
sion. We  sing  in  that  good  old  song:  "What  God  does  ever  well 
is  done."  But  this  is  not  the  sentiment  of  our  sinful  flesh.  Our 
hearts  are  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked, 
and  would  rather  say:  ''What  God  did  in  this  case  is  all  wrong." 
It  should  have  been  otherwise.  We  had  planned  differently.  You 
think  of  all  the  plans  which  you  have  laid  for  this  child,  all  the 
hopes  which  you  expected  to  realize,  and  now  all  lies  in  ruins. 
All  your  plans  have  miscarried.  With  one  blow  all  is  brought 
to  naught.   "Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes." 

But  all  this  mysterious  providence  of  God  is  a  blessing  in  the 
end.  Of  this  both  Jacob  and  Joseph  are  proof.  Joseph's  lot 
seemed  the  hardest  that  could  possibly  befall  him.  His  brethren 
indeed  spared  his  life  but  only  to  sell  him  into  slavery.  It  would 
have  been  more  tolerable  to  kill  him  outright.  Henceforth  he 
was  to  be  counted  as  chattel  property.  He  would  have  no  rights 
which  his  master  was  bound  to  respect.  But  what  was  the  re- 
sult? Joseph  rose  to  the  highest  honors  in  Egypt.  He  afterward 
said  to  his  brethren:  "Ye  thought  evil  against  me  but  God  meant 
it  unto  good"  (Gen.  50:  20).  It  was  his  greatest  good  fortune 
that  he  was  sold  into  Egypt;  that  Potiphar  bought  him;  that  he 
was  cast  into  prison  innocently.  All  these  sad  experiences  were 
only  stepping-stones  to  his  future  glory. 

And  his  father's  experience  was  similar.  What  he  mourned 
as  his  greatest  calamity,  was  in  reality  his  highest  good  fortune. 
What  would  have  become  of  him  and  his  house  in  the  famine  if 
God  had  not  sent  Joseph  ahead  into  Egypt  to  store  up  the  surplus 


SOEEOW  OF  PAEENTS  OVEE  DEATH  OP  A  CHILD      91 

grain  for  them  and  the  whole  land  1  God  had  cared  for  his  people 
in  advance,  and  prepared  for  them  a  refuge.  Oh,  how  Jacob 
must  have  thanked  God  after  his  wise  plans  were  once  revealed! 
And  you,  beloved  in  your  sore  affliction,  are  also  under  God's 
merciful  providence.  The  Savior  says  to  you  as  he  did  to  Peter: 
''What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  here- 
after" (John  13:  7).  We  must  say  with  the  apostle:  ''How 
unsearchable  are  his  judgments  and  his  ways  past  finding  out" 
(Rom.  11:  24).  And  yet  we  know  that  all  things  must  work  to- 
gether for  good  to  them  that  love  God.  You  may  be  assured  that 
"This  also  cometh  forth  from  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  which  is  won- 
derful in  council,  and  excellent  in  working"  (Isaiah  28:  29). 
Therefore  the  Psalmist  says:  "Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my 
soul,  and  why  art  thou  disquieted  in  me  ?  Hope  thou  in  God :  for 
I  shall  yet  praise  him  for  the  help  of  his  countenance"  (Ps.  42: 
6).  Therefore  suppress  all  thoughts  as  though  God  had  visited 
you  in  his  wrath,  for  whom  the  Lord  loveth  him  doth  he  chastise. 
Let  us  rather  say  with  the  poet: 

'MVhat  God  does  ever  well  is  done! 
His  will  is  just  and  holy; 
As  lie  directs  my  sands  to  run, 
My  spirit  shall  keep  lowly. 
He  is  my  God;  though  sore  the  rod, 
His  care  doth  e'er  enfold  me: 
Then  may  he  guide  and  hold  me.'' 

ni. 

Jacob  mourned  over  the  fact  that  his  child  died  before  he  did. 
No  doubt  he  had  hoped  that  Joseph  would  be  the  staff  of  his  old 
age.  And  now  everything  turned  out  so  very  differently.  The 
ideal  relationship  between  the  God-fearing  old  man  and  his  pious 
son  was  ruthlessly  torn  asunder.  If  Jacob  had  died,  it  would  have 
been  no  more  than  one  might  expect  at  his  age.  He  was  old  and 


92  FUNERALSEEMONS 

naturally  his  end  was  not  far  off.  How  gladly  would  he  have  lain 
down  to  die  in  the  arms  of  Joseph.  But  now  his  favorite  boy  must 
die  before  him.  Without  a  word  of  farewell,  hearty  and  hale  he 
left  home  and  now  this  bloody  garment  is  returned.  Jacob  never 
hoped  to  see  his  child  again  in  this  world.  How  lonely  would  his 
life  be  from  now  on.  How  he  would  miss  his  child!  Everything 
that  reminded  him  of  his  child  would  tear  open  the  wound  afresh, 
and  especially  in  old  age  such  wounds  are  slow  to  heal. 

And  your  hearts  too  bleed  today  over  the  death  of  your  child. 
O  how  terrible  it  is  that  we  are  compelled  to  hasten  the  burial 
of  our  loved  ones  after  death.  In  spite  of  all  the  skill  of  the 
embalmer  we  can  protect  their  corpses  but  a  few  days  from 
corruption.  How  soon  they  return  to  dust  and  ashes!  Yes,  **As 
for  man  his  days  are  as  grass:  as  a  flower  of  the  field  so  he 
flourisheth.  For  the  wind  passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone ;  and  the 
place  thereof  shall  know  it  no  more"  (Ps.  103:  15,  16).  0  how 
awful  are  all  thoughts  of  the  grave  with  its  corruption.  We  lower 
the  corpses  of  our  loved  ones  into  the  grave  and  cover  them  with 
earth,  in  order  to  remove  them  from  the  eyes  of  all  men;  for 
there  is  nothing  more  terrible  to  the  senses  of  man  than  a  decom- 
posing corpse.  Yes,  we  must  part  from  our  loved  ones.  Not  even 
their  corpses  dare  remain  with  us. 

And  yet  the  separation  of  death  is  only  temporary.  It  was  not 
long  until  Jacob  heard  the  good  news:  *'Thy  son  Joseph  is  yet 
alive  and  lord  over  all  Egypt."  And  though  he  could  scarcely 
believe  the  message  yet  the  presents  which  Joseph  sent  convinced 
him  that  it  was  true.  Overcome  with  joy  he  said:  '*It  is  enough; 
Joseph  my  son  is  yet  alive:  I  will  go  and  see  him  before  I  die" 
(Gen.  45:  28).  And  in  a  short  time  he  rested  in  Joseph's  arms. 
Joseph  fell  upon  his  neck  and  wept  tears  of  joy.  This  was  a 
reunion  such  as  the  patriarch  had  never  dreamed  of.  New  life 
ran  through  his  old  heart.  How  his  eyes  sparkled  with  joy !  Now 
all  sorrow  was  banished.  Now  his  sighs  and  groans  were  changed 


SORROW  OF  PARENTS  OVER  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD      93 

into  songs  of  praise.   The  storms  of  trouble  were  over,  and  there 
was  bright  sunshine  and  calm. 

And,  my  beloved,  for  you  there  is  in  store  even  a  more 
glorious  reunion.  Your  child  will  meet  you  at  the  last  day  in  its 
risen,  glorified  body.  Or  you  may  die  before  the  Lord's  appear- 
ance and  meet  your  child  in  heaven.  That  will  be  a  glorious 
reunion.  You  shall  meet  to  part  no  more.  The  few  years  that 
you  may  have  to  spend  in  this  vale  of  tears  will  soon  be  over. 
With  every  day  you  are  one  step  nearer  the  end  of  your  earthly 
pilgrimage.  The  New  Jerusalem  already  looms  up  in  the  dis- 
tance. You  may  hope  soon  to  be  within  its  golden  walls.  Then 
you  will  realize  the  blessed  fact  that  your  loved  one  was  not  lost 
but  only  gone  before. 

"Jerusalem!     My  happy  home! 
My  soul  still  pants  for  thee; 
Then  shall  my  labors  have  an  end, 
When  I  thy  joy  shall  see.''     Amen. 


Part  II 


INDEX— PART  II 


Text 

Luke  7:  14 

Rom.  14: 

7-9 

Psalm  40: 

3 

Matt.  14: 

12 

Matt.  11: 

28 

Psalm  119 

:  9 

,Eccles.  12: 

1-! 

feev.  2:  10 

Occasion 
At  the  death  of  a  college  stu- 
dent who   had  the  ministry 

in  view 

At  the  sudden  death  of  a  young 

woman   

For  a  young  woman  who  had 
musical  talent  and  conse- 
crated it  to  God's  service-- 

For  a  Christian  young  man 

For  a  pastor's  young  wife 

For  a  young  man 

For  a  young  married  woman__ 

For    a    comparatively    young 

Christian  woman 


Author 


Page 


Rev.L.  H.  Schuh __     3 

Rev.  Prof.  G.  J.  Zeilinger  10 


Rev.  W.  E.  Tressel 15 

Rev.  W.  E.  Schramm 23 

Rev.  W.  E.  Tressel 30 

Rev.  H.  P.  Dannecker  __  39 
R«v.  J.  H.  Kuhlman 48 

Rev.  W.  E.  Tressel 54 


JESUS    CHRIST   IS    THE    CONQUEROR    OF    DEATH 
By  Rev.  L.  H.  Schuh,  Ph.  D. 

"And  lie  came  and  touched  the  hier;    and  they  that  "bare  him  stood 
still.    And  he  said,  Young  man,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise." — Luke  7:  14. 

Occasion :  At  the  death  of  a  college  student  who  had  the  ministry 

in  view 

Members  of  the  Faculty,  Students,  and  Friends: 

It  was  at  daybreak  on  the  twenty-second  of  December  that 

the  soul  of  R S winged  its  flight  from  earth  to 

heaven.  On  that  day  many  of  us  were  still  steeped  in  Christmas 
joys.  We  had  sung  the  praises  of  the  Christ-child  and  the  echo 
of  the  Christmas  hymns  had  not  yet  died  out  in  our  hearts  and 
homes.  In  that  death  chamber  in  Grant  Hospital  there  was  but 
one  external  sign  of  Christmas.  There  hung  on  the  wall  two 
holly  wreaths,  the  gift  of  his  classmates.  These  wreaths  were 
to  suggest  to  the  departed  the  joys  of  the  season.  They  may  have 
done  so;  but  possibly  not,  for  those  who  watched  around  his 
deathbed  felt  that  the  gaze  of  the  departed  was  fixed  upon  the 
face  of  the  death-angel,  which  once  having  been  looked  upon 
engrosses  the  attention.  The  messenger  of  the  Most  High  beck- 
oned. No  mortal  has  yet  refused  obedience.  God  took  our  brother 
and  so  the  festive  season  became  infinitely  greater  for  him  than 
for  us.  While  we  sang  of  the  heavenly  choir  and  attempted  to 
imitate  their  strains  of  ''Glory  to  God  in  the  highest  and  peace 
upon  earth,  good  will  toward  men,"  he  went  to  join  the  angelic 
choir  and  to  pour  out  his  enraptured  soul  at  the  feet  of  the 
Christ-child.  It  Avas  a  merry,  a  blessed  Christmas  for  him. 

We  could  not  at  that  time  hold  an  appropriate  service  and  so 
we  gather  here  tonight  to  discharge  a  debt  of  love.   We  wish  to 

3 


4  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

Speak  of  what  God  did  for  him  in  life  and  in  death,  to  exhort  you 
to  imitate  his  virtues,  to  beg  of  you  to  throw  the  mantle  of 
charity  over  his  faults,  to  ask  you  to  keep  green  his  memory  and 
to  pray  to  God  to  make  both  his  life  and  his  death  a  benediction 
to  our  school. 

Death  is  always  sad,  but  not  always  equally  so.  When  an  old 
man  has  filled  up  the  measure  of  life  and  like  ripe  fruit  drops  to 
the  earth  from  sheer  mellowness,  we  say:  *'It  must  be  so."  We 
wander  through  the  orchard  in  the  fall  and  we  see  the  matured 
fruit  lying  on  the  ground.  We  express  no  surprise  or  sorrow.  We 
know  that  this  is  after  the  course  of  nature.  But  to  pass  through 
the  orchard  in  early  summer  and  to  see  the  green  fruit  torn  per- 
force from  the  tree,  this  is  a  disappointment  and  we  ask:  ''Why 
is  this?" 

Here  was  a  young  life  cut  short.  It  seemed  to  be  developing 
in  a  normal  and  satisfactory  manner.  It  gave  promise  of  useful- 
ness. It  was  consecrated  to  God  and  so  far  as  we  could  see  was 
much  needed  in  the  Christian  ministry  and  could  it  have  been 
spared  would  have  brought  untold  blessings  to  many.  It  was  just 
passing  into  the  greatest  cycle  of  human  life,  the  period  of  mature 
manhood.  The  grim  reaper  has  cut  it  down.  Involuntarily  there 
arises  the  question:  Why?  Human  reason  is  confounded  and 
admits  that  it  cannot  give  a  satisfactory  answer.  There  comes  a 
quasi  answer  from  the  Word.  ''My  ways  are  not  your  ways." 
"What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt  know  here- 
after." The  providence  of  God  has  two  sides,  the  dark  and  the 
bright  side.  We  are  wandering  in  the  dark  side  now  and  must 
content  ourselves  with  believing  that  "all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  the  Lord. ' '  He  will  by  and  by  reveal 
his  will  to  us.  We  must  comfort  ourselves  in  the  meantime  with 
the  revelations  given  in  his  Word.  One  of  them  we  have  in  this 
text.  It  is  this :  Jesus  Christ  is  the  conqueror  of  death.  This  truth 
has  comforting  power.  Let  us  address  ourselves  to  it. 


JESUS    CHRIST    CONQUEROR    OF    DEATH  5 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Conqueror  of  Death 

I.  He  conquered  Physical  Death :  Jesus  and  his  disciples  were 
about  to  enter  Nain.  A  funeral  procession  was  coming  out.  As 
death  was  the  wages  of  sin,  no  dead  could  be  interred  within  the 
city  limits.  At  the  gates  of  the  city  the  Prince  of  Life  and  the 
Prince  of  Horrors  meet.  It  was  a  pitiable  case.  Death  loves  a 
shining  mark.  So  here — a  widow  was  bereft  of  her  only  son, 
bowed  down  with  grief  she  follows  the  bier  and  that  the  case  was 
unusually  touching  is  shown  by  the  multitude  that  follow. 

At  no  place  in  the  gospel  is  Jesus  represented  as  tender- 
hearted as  here.  Elsewhere  he  was  asked  and  even  importuned 
to  help,  but  here  unasked  he  commands  the  bier  to  be  set  on  the 
ground  and  he  steps  up,  touches  the  bier  and  issues  his  divine 
command:  "Young  man,  Arise.'*  And  the  dead  obeys.  There 
dwelt  in  Jesus  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  His  divine 
power  manifested  itself  and  so  he  conquered  physical  death. 

But  this  is  not  all.  He  raised  the  daughter  of  Jairus.  He  stood 
at  the  grave  of  Lazarus  after  he  was  dead  already  four  days  and 
was  stinking  and  called  him  back  to  life.  But  the  crowning 
miracle  of  our  Lord  was  his  own  resurrection.  They  nailed  him 
to  the  tree.  He  bowed  his  head  and  gave  up  the  ghost.  His  friends 
buried  him  and  his  enemies  sealed  his  tomb.  But  on  the  third  day 
invisible  hands  rolled  back  the  stone  that  the  world  might  look 
in  and  be  convinced  that  the  grave  was  empty.  Jesus  had  fulfilled 
his  own  promise:  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life."  He  raised 
himself  from  the  dead  and  so  he  proved  himself  to  be  the  con- 
queror of  physical  death. 

He  will  raise  all  the  dead.  ''The  hour  is  coming  in  the  which 
all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice  and  come  forth; 
they  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  they 
that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation." 


Q  FUNBBAL    SERMONS 

The  last  enemy,  which  is  death,  shall  be  put  under  his  feet. 
His  work  of  redemption  is  complete;  but  his  work  of  victory  is 
incomplete.  He  will  triumph  over  death  and  not  until  the  dead 
have  arisen  will  his  victory  over  physical  death  be  complete. 
Christ  will  raise  our  departed  brother.  That  is  our  hope  and  our 
comfort. 

The  world  finds  great  difficulty  here.  When  the  body  returns 
to  its  original  elements,  "How  can  it  arise?"  they  say.  The 
chemist  may  dissolve  a  lump  of  silver  in  an  acid;  but  by  a 
chemical  process  he  may  collect  it  again.  Should  the  chemist  who 
merely  follows  the  laws  of  nature  be  wiser  and  mightier  than 
he  who  made  them?  God,  out  of  dust,  before  our  very  eyes,  is 
every  day  making  the  bodies  of  men.  The  food  which  we  eat 
comes  from  the  earth  and  contains  the  substances  found  in  the 
soil.  By  the  process  of  digestion  and  assimilation  they  are  con- 
verted into  blood  and  flesh  and  bone.  So  our  bodies  are  daily 
being  constructed  out  of  the  dust.  Why  should  that  God  who 
made  man  from  the  dust  and  who  upholds  him  from  the  dust  not 
be  able  at  last  to  take  the  dust  and  quicken  it? 

The  Christian  says:  "I  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the 
body."  He  knows  that  the  victory  of  Christ  will  be  complete. 
It  has  been  prefigured  by  Christ's  power  over  death  in  himself 
and  others.  The  believer  even  now  looks  beyond  the  coffin  and 
the  grave  to  the  great  resurrection  morning  and  his  heart  is 
comforted  because  Christ  has  triumphed  over  physical  death. 

II.  He  conquered  Spiritual  Death:  When  Jesus  raised  the 
young  man  from  the  dead  ''there  came  a  fear  on  all  and  they 
glorified  God  saying,  That  a  great  prophet  is  risen  up  among 
us  and.  That  God  hath  visited  his  people."  There  was  a  spiritual 
awakening  in  that  throng.  They  believed  on  him  and  that  was 
spiritual  life. 

Death  is  always  a  separation.  Physical  death  is  a  separation 
of  soul  and  body.   Spiritual  death  is  the  separation  of  the  soul 


JESUS   CHRIST    CONQUEROR    OF   DEATH  7 

from  God.  The  soul  may  be  estranged  from  its  Maker.  The 
Scriptures  teach  that  a  man  may  be  dead  even  while  he  lives. 
''Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ 
shall  give  thee  life."  To  be  ignorant  of  God's  saving  will,  to  be 
in  rebellion  against  his  righteous  will  in  opposition  to  his  holy 
will, — this  is  to  be  spiritually  dead. 

From  this  state  a  man  can  no  more  save  himself  than  he  can 
raise  himself  up  from  bodily  death.  Help  must  come  from  with- 
out. Just  as  Jesus  was  the  Helper  of  the  dead,  calling  him  back 
to  life  by  his  Word,  so  Christ  through  his  Word  enlightens  the 
intellect  that  we  see  our  sinful  condition,  and  influences  the  will 
that  it  is  no  longer  perverse.  This  call  comes  with  much  force  in 
the  Word.  There,  he  instructs  and  pleads  and  persuades.  There 
the  Spirit  draws,  and  by  his  power  the  soul  is  born  again.  When 
we  know  that  Jesus  is  the  Savior  and  trust  in  him  for  forgiveness, 
new  life  has  come  to  the  soul.  Then  Jesus  has  conquered  spiritual 
death. 

Our  departed  brother  led  the  life  that  is  hidden  in  God.  Amid 
much  weakness  he  still  gave  evidence  that  Christ  was  his  master 
and  that  he  was  trying  to  do  his  will.  He  did  not  allow  his  flesh 
to  rule  him,  but  tried  to  crucify  it.  In  the  choice  of  a  calling  he 
did  not  consult  with  flesh  and  blood  but  was  willing  to  deny 
himself  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  to  spend  his  strength  in 
the  service  of  the  church.  He  was  not  seeking  to  do  his  own  will 
but  that  of  another.  These  evidences  of  the  spiritual  resurrection 
are  a  comfort  to  us  today. 

Young  men,  his  classmates  and  fellow-students,  this  occasion 
forces  upon  you  a  very  solemn  question:  Have  you  passed  from 
death  unto  life?  Has  the  Master  said  unto  you:  ''Young  man, 
Arise?"  And  have  you  heard  and  obeyed  that  voice,  or  are  you 
still  holden  of  death?  Are  you  resisting  the  drawing  of  his  Spirit 
and  leading  a  life  of  the  flesh  which  begins  and  ends  in  death? 
Or  can  you  truthfully  say:  "I  have  felt  the  power  of  his  Word 


g  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

and  have  the  new  life  in  my  soul?  I  have  yielded  my  heart  to 
him."  Blessed  are  all  they  who  have  experienced  the  new  life. 

Come  now  in  the  prime  of  life  and  yield  yourself  to  this 
gracious  influence.  Let  not  the  call  of  God  be  heard  in  vain.  Some 
of  you  are  evidently  halting  between  two  opinions.  The  world 
and  the  flesh  with  their  temptations  have  beset  you  and  you  are 
saying:  ''Not  now,  not  now.  Some  other  day  when  I  have  a 
convenient  season." 

Do  not  spend  your  strength  in  the  service  of  the  flesh,  bringing 
at  last  only  the  wreckage  of  life  to  God.  No!  come  now,  with 
all  the  powers  of  your  bodies  and  souls  at  their  best  and  lay 
them  down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  This  life  in  Christ,  this  service 
of  the  Master,  will  afford  you  no  heartache,  no  pangs  of  con- 
science, no  regrets,  no  bitter  taste  in  the  mouth,  no  suffering  from 
abused  members,  but  rather  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

If  the  death  of  this  young  man  should  make  you  more  thought- 
ful, or  lead  one  of  you  into  the  Christian  ministry,  or  win  you 
away  from  the  world  and  its  service  and  direct  your  feet  heaven- 
ward, then  both  his  life  and  his  death  would  have  been  a  blessing 
to  our  school.  May  God  grant  it ! 

III.  He  has  conquered  Eternal  Death:  Death  always  signifies 
a  separation.  Physical  death  signifies  a  separation  of  body  and 
soul.  Spiritual  death  signifies  the  separation  of  the  soul  from 
God  in  this  life.  Eternal  death  signifies  the  separation  of  the  soul 
from  the  beatific  vision  of  God  in  the  next  life. 

There  will  be  such  an  exclusion  in  the  life  to  come.  "And 
these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment;  but  the  right- 
eous into  life  eternal."  The  Bible  knows  nothing  of  universal 
salvation  in  the  life  to  come.  How  could  it?  Can  God  force  a 
man  into  heaven?  Can  he  consistently  coerce  the  human  will? 
And  if  he  saved  men  against  their  will  could  they  be  happy? 
There  is  a  law  of  affinity.  If  God  is  not  the  affinity  of  a 
human  soul,  if  sin  is  its  delight  and  it  hates  holiness  how  could 


JESUS    CHRIST    CONQUEROR    OF    DEATH  9 

such  a  soul  be  happy  amid  the  perfection  of  heaven!  Judas 
''went  to  his  place,"  because  by  the  law  of  affinity  he  belonged 
there  and  would  have  been  out  of  place  elsewhere.  Just  as  the 
magnet  attracts  some  metals  and  repels  others  by  this  same  law, 
so  souls  naturally  gravitate  toward  heaven  or  hell  because  of 
their  relation  to  Christ.  And  this  state  of  eternal  rejection  the 
Bible  calls  ''eternal  death." 

The  temporal  effects  of  sin  are  largely  left  upon  us  in  spite 
of  the  redemption  in  Christ ;  but  the  eternal  effects  are  altogether 
lifted  from  us  by  his  vicarious  sufferings  upon  the  cross.  Jesus 
suffered  the  torments  of  hell,  appeased  the  wrath  of  God,  satisfied 
his  justice  and  merited  eternal  life  and  now  offers  this  great  boon 
to  all  who  accept  it  in  faith. 

Life,  both  now  and  hereafter,  is  the  supreme  desire  of  the 
human  soul.  Job  correctly  says:  "Whatsoever  a  man  hath  will 
he  give  for  his  life,"  because  nothing  on  earth  may  be  compared 
to  it.  How  we  struggle  to  keep  it !  How  we  shrink  from  surren- 
dering it!  How  dreadful  is  the  thought  of  annihilation!  How 
pleasing  the  prospect  of  an  eternal  existence  in  a  state  of  perfec- 
tion! We  have  that  prospect  if  we  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  because 
he  has  conquered  eternal  death. 

"In  thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy;  at  thy  right  hand  there  are 
pleasures  for  evermore. "  I  know  not  where  heaven  is;  I  only 
know  that  it  is  "  in  thy  presence. ' '  Jesus  said :  ' '  Today  shalt  thou 
be  with  me  in  paradise."  What  matters  it  if  we  do  not  know 
where  heaven  is  ?  If  we  can  be  with  Jesus  who  is  enthroned  high 
above  the  heavens  all  will  be  well.  Every  longing  of  the  human 
soul,  every  righteous  aspiration  of  the  human  breast  he  will 
satisfy.  And  we  shall  live  with  him  world  without  end. 

Let  us  bow  in  submission  to  the  dispensation  of  God,  believing 
where  we  cannot  understand  and  looking  forward  to  that  time 
when  we  shall  meet  around  the  glory-seat  of  him  who  has  con- 
quered death  in  all  its  forms.  Amen ! 


JESUS  IS  LORD  OF  OUR  DEAD 
By  Prof.  G.  J.  Zeilinger 

"For  none  of  us  liveth  to  himself,  and  no  man  dieth  to  himself.  For 
whether  we  live,  we  live  unto  the  Lord;  and  whether  we  die,  we  die  unto 
the  Lord:  whether  we  live  therefore,  or  die,  we  are  the  Lord's.  For  to 
this  end  Christ  both  died  and  rose,  and  revived,  that  he  might  he  Lord  hoth 
of  the  dead  and  living.  "—Rom.  14:  7-9. 

Occasion:  A  young  woman  visiting  with  friends  in  the  city,  found 
dead  in  her  bed  in  the  morning 

Mourning  Friends : 

It  is  winter  now,  winter  bleak  and  dreary,  and  not  the  season 
of  harvest.  But  there  is  a  reaper  that  pays  no  attention  whatever 
to  times  or  seasons.  Winter  and  summer  are  all  alike  to  him. 
He  does  not  care  for  meadows  of  golden  grain  and  gardens  of 
beautiful,  sweet-scented  flowers;  but  men,  and  women,  and  even 
lovely  children  he  would  cut  down  with  a  merciless  and  unrelent- 
ing hand.  And  when  he  swings  his  gleaming  scythe,  0  friends, 
does  not  the  burnished  steel  seem  to  enter  our  very  souls,  when 
we  but  think  of  it !  When  he  swings  his  scythe,  they  fall — not  only 
**the  bearded  grain  at  a  breath,  but  also  the  flowers  that  grow 
between":  for  *'all  flesh  is  as  grass  and  all  the  glory  of  man  as 
the  flower  of  the  grass. ' ' 

And  when  we  thus  see  them  fall  all  about  us,  one  by  one,  and 
twice  here  in  our  little  congregation,  twice  within  the  short  cycle 
of  twelve  months,  without  warning,  life  extinguished  like  a 
candle  by  a  sudden  gust  of  wind, — who  would  be  so  hardened 
as  not  to  be  touched  to  the  quick  ?  Who  that  is  a  Christian  would 
not  lift  his  face,  and  if  it  be  a  tear-stained  one,  to  the  mountains 
from  whence  cometh  help,  and  pray:  **Lord,  so  teach  us  to  num- 
ber our  days,  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom!" 

10 


M 


JESUS  IS  LORD  OF  OUR  DEAD  H 

This  true  wisdom  God  would  teach  us,  oh,  we  all  know  where, 
namely,  not  in  woods  or  fields,  not  in  the  pursuit  of  our  own 
desires,  not  where  the  lord  of  this  world  holds  sway,  but  (and 
there  is  only  one  place  where  God  teaches  wisdom)  in  his  Holy 
Word!  There  also  you  sorrowing  ones  will  find  light  and  an 
answer  to  the  question  which  doubtless  weighs  heavy  upon  your 
hearts  and  minds,  the  question:  Does  God's  Word  say  anything 
about  such  a  death  as  our  dear  departed  one  suffered  ?  Clear  and 
firm,  like  the  tone  of  a  full-tongued  bell  in  perfect  tune,  the 
answer  peals  forth  from  our  text:  "Whether  we  live  or  die,  we 
are  the  Lord's.  For  to  this  end  Christ  both  died  and  rose,  and 
revived  that  he  might  be  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and  living ! ' ' 

Therefore,  as  Jesus  is  the  Lord  of  our  departed  sister, 

1)  We  need  not  sorrow  over  her  end,  as  though  she  had  been 
left  alone  in  the  hour  of  death ; 

2)  We  ought  to  be  comforted  in  view  of  her  present  state. 
"Wliat  makes  death,  in  whatever  form  it  may  appear,  so  awful 

that  a  good  many  people  would  rather  not  hear  the  w^ord  men- 
tioned at  all,  is  the  incontrovertible  fact,  that  the  road  leading 
through  the  dark  valley  of  shadows  must  be  traveled  by  each 
dying  person  all  by  himself  alone.  There  may  be  friends,  and 
those  who  are  near  and  dear  to  us,  by  our  bedside  when  we  pass 
away;  but  not  even  a  mother  can  go  with  her  child, — every  soul 
passes  out  of  this  world  by  itself  and  alone. 

Yet  we,  that  are  left  behind,  feel  more  comforted,  if  we  can  be 
with  those  we  love,  when  they  breathe  their  last.  We  do  every- 
thing we  can  possibly  think  of  to  brighten  their  last  moments 
and  to  smooth  the  way  they  must  go.  We  pray  for  them  and 
with  them:  we  comfort  them  with  the  rod  and  the  staff  of  our 
Good  Shepherd,  Jesus,  i.  e.,  with  his  holy,  precious  Word,  and, 
if  at  all  possible,  with  the  blessed  sacrament  of  his  holy  Body 
and  Blood.  When  then  those  we  love  depart  in  the  silence  of 
night,  while  no  eye  watches  over  them,  and  no  one  hears  their  last 


12  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

faint  whisper,  we  feel  as  though  there  is  nothing  sadder  on  earth ; 
and  when  we  must  add  to  this  the  thought  that,  perhaps,  our 
departed  ones  passed  away  so  suddenly  that  they  themselves 
never  realized  the  event,  and,  therefore,  every  opportunity  of 
preparing  for  the  moment  of  departure  was  cut  off, — we  feel  as 
though  there  is  no  comfort  for  us. 

And  3^et,  my  friends,  he  that  said  to  Israel:  ''As  one  whom 
his  mother  comforteth,  so  will  I  comfort  you,"  has  already  pre- 
pared true,  perfect,  abundant,  and  more  than  abundant  consola- 
tion for  us,  even  before  we  were  in  need  of  it.  If  we  turn  to  this 
word  of  God,  our  text,  it  seems  as  though  God  himself  were 
saying  to  us:  0  you  foolish  children,  what  are  you  troubling 
your  hearts  for?  Just  as  though  anyone  of  my  own  could  ever 
be  left  alone !  Just  as  little  as  any  child  of  mine,  i.  e.,  any  true 
Christian,  lives  to  himself  (and  no  Christian  lives  to  himself;  all 
Christians  live  to  Christ.  Paul  says,  "For  me  to  live  is  Christ," 
and  again,  "Now  live  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me"),  yes,  just 
as  no  Christian  lives  to  himself,  so,  of  course,  none  dies  to  himself, 
for,  "whether  they  live,"  our  text  says,  "they  live  unto  the 
Lord,  and  whether  they  die,  they  die  unto  the  Lord."  In  other 
words,  as  the  Christian's  life  is  devoted  to  God  in  Christ,  so  also 
his  death  is  devoted  to  Christ.  And  why?  Because  Christ  is  the 
Christian's  Lord,  his  Lord,  not  only  in  life,  but  also  in  death. 
Christ  is  always  his  Lord! 

If,  however,  we  are  always  his,  what  difference  can  it  make, 
whether  we  are  sleeping  or  waking,  living  or  dying?  We  are 
always  his,  and  he  is  always  ours.  Having  become  your  father's 
child,  unless  you  voluntarily  renounce  him,  do  you  ever  cease 
being  his  child?  Can  you  ever  cease  being  your  Heavenly  Father's 
child,  if  you  do  not  run  away  from  him,  nor  despise  his  fatherly 
love  and  your  Savior's  grace?  No,  and  therefore  as  a  father  will 
take  care  of  his  child,  so  our  dear  Father  in  heaven  will  never 
leave  nor  forsake  his  own.    "Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,"  Jesus 


JESUS    IS    LORD    OF    OUR    DEAD  13 

says,  "even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  ''My  sheep  hear  my 
voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow  me,  and  I  give  unto  them 
eternal  life,  and  no  man  shall  pluck  them  out  of  my  hands." 
That  is  what  he  said  who  is  the  Truth  and  who  never  told  a 
falsehood,  and  therefore  the  soul  of  his  faithful  child  replies  with 
David:  ''Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy 
staff  they  comfort  me!"  .  .  .  Therefore,  if  Jesus  was  her 
Lord,  she,  over  whom  you  are  sorrowing  today,  was  not  alone, 
when  she  seemed  to  be  forsaken  by  all ;  and  though  no  soul  watched 
the  departure  of  her  soul,  he,  to  whom  she  had  lived  and  to  whom 
she  died,  was  with  her  and  did  for  her  what  neither  friend,  nor 
brother,  neither  father  nor  mother,  nor  even  her  only  sister  could 
have  done  for  her, — Jesus  took  her  home ! 

2.  And,  therefore,  my  friends,  you  should  be  comforted  also  in 
view  of  her  present  state. 

For,  if  Jesus  took  her  home,  he  did  not  leave  her  again,  but  he 
is  with  her  and  she  is  with  him  even  now.  But  is  this  true  ?  Does 
Jesus  actually  take  care  of  his  own  in  the,  other  world,  and  are 
they  really  with  him  even  after  death?  Does  his  interest  in  them 
not  cease  when  he  has  brought  them  safely  to  the  other  shore? 
0  friends,  what  does  God's  Word  of  our  text  say?  "For  to  this 
end  Christ  both  died,  and  rose,  and  revived,  that  he  might  be  Lord 
of  the  dead  and  living ! ' ' 

Does  it  not  seem  strange  that  the  dead  are  mentioned  first, 
even  before  the  living?  To  be  Lord  of  both,  the  dead  and  the 
living,  he  "died,  rose,  and  revived."  Yes,  that  is  why  he  re- 
deemed us  poor,  sinful  and  condemned  creatures,  that  is  why  he 
purchased  and  won  us  from  all  our  sins,  from  death  and  the 
power  of  the  devil, — (not  with  gold  or  silver,  but  with  his  holy, 
precious  blood  and  with  his  innocent  sufferings  and  death),  in 
order  that  we  might  be  his  own,  live  under  him  in  his  kingdom, 
and  serve  him  in  everlasting  righteousness,  innocence  and  blessed- 


14 


PUNERAL     SERMONS 


ness,  even  as  he  is  risen  from  the  dead,  liveth  and  reigneth  to  all 
eternity.   This  is  most  certainly  true 

And  that  is  precisely  what  our  blessed  dead  are  doing  now; 
they  are  not  only  resting  from  their  labors  in  the  beautiful  home 
beyond,  they  are  not  only  enjoying  the  happiness  and  beauty  of 
Jerusalem,  their  happy  home,  Jerusalem,  the  golden,  with  milk 
and  honey  blest, — but  they  are  serving  their  Lord,  as  they  served 
him  on  earth,  only  with  this  difference,  that  now  there  is  no  sin  to 
mar  their  service,  no  sin  to  spoil  their  best  words  and  deeds. 

And  they  are  serving  in  the  company  of  all  the  angels  and 
saints  in  heaven,  and  in  the  company  of  all  our  blessed  dead  that 
have  gone  before,  singing  praises,  and  offering  glory,  honor,  and 
thanksgiving  to  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  and  Savior,  to  whom  be 
glory  and  honor,  world  without  end.  And  this  is  most  certainly 
true.   Amen! 


JEHOVAH  HATH  PUT  A  NEW  SONG  IN  MY  MOUTH 
By  Rev.  Walter  E.  Tressel,  A.  M. 

''And  he  hath  put  a  new  song  in  my  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our 
God     .     .     ."—Psalm  40:  3. 

Occasion:  For  a  young  woman,  of  no  little  musical  talent  and 

culture,  who  delighted  in  opportunities  to  use  her  voice 

in  God's  service 

Music  is  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  beautiful  gifts  of  God 
to  man.  In  the  highest  sense  music  is  one  of  the  fine  arts.  "What 
a  revelation  here  of  God's  power  and  wisdom,  what  a  reflection 
of  the  beauty  and  nobility  of  the  divine  nature!  Man's  deepest 
being  is  moved  by  sweet  concord  of  sounds.  There  issues,  from 
instrument  or  voice,  a  refining  influence.  Brutish  and  savage 
indeed  must  be  the  soul  which  remains  unresponsive  to  music's 
tender  call. 

From  earliest  times  the  world  has  echoed  the  strains  and 
harmonies  of  uplifting  music.  Jubal  is  known  as  the  father  of 
those  that  handle  the  harp  and  the  pipe  (Gen.  4:  21).  ''Moses 
and  the  children  of  Israel  sang  unto  Jehovah"  a  song  of  victory 
(Exodus  15:  1).  Miriam,  the  prophetess,  sister  of  Moses  and 
Aaron,  led  the  women  in  a  chant  of  victory : 

"Sing  ye  to  Jehovah,  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously; 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea.'' 

(Exodus   15:    21.) 

The  Bible  makes  mention  repeatedly  of  music  and  song  in  the 
service  of  the  Lord  God.  Witness  the  Levitical  chorus  and  orches- 
tra (I  Chron.  15:  16-24)  and  the  impressive  ceremonies  connected 

15 


16 


rUNERAL     SERMONS 


with  the  dedication  of  Solomon's  temple  (II  Chron.  5:  12).  Never 
does  music,  or  any  other  art,  attain  to  loftier  heights  than  when 
employed  in  the  cause  of  religion.  The  noblest  music  in  the  world 
today  is  that  called  forth  by  religious  emotion. 

It  is  altogether  fitting  that  we  should  speak,  in  this  home 
whose  walls  have  so  often  echoed  to  the  sacred  songs  which  poured 
from  our  sister's  lips — lips  now  silenced  by  death — of  the  happy 
experience  of  the  psalmist  so  exultantly  expressed  in  our  text : 

Jehovah  Hath  Put  a  New  Song  in  My  Mouth 

The  psalmist  sings  the  new  song  in  The  Church  on  Earth— The 
Kingdom  of  Grace.  A  great  deliverance  is  celebrated  in  this 
psalm.  What  the  exact  nature  of  that  deliverance  was,  we  are 
unable  to  say.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  nation — Israel — is 
thought  of  as  the  beneficiary.  Another  school  of  interpreters  take 
the  psalm  as  a  record  of  the  personal  experiences  of  the  author.  I 
believe,  with  the  latter,  that  the  writer  had  personally  experi- 
enced a  great  blessing  and  in  this  psalm  gratefully  and  exultantly 
proclaims  the  divine  power  and  goodness  which  intervened  in  his 
behalf. 

The  author  intimates,  in  the  first  verse  of  the  psalm,  that  he 
has  been  in  a  hard  situation,  and  tells  of  his  patient  waiting. 

''I  waited  patiently  for  the  Lord.'' 

This  patience  in  waiting  was  rewarded: 

"And  he  inclined  unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry.'' 

The  seriousness  of  the  situation  is  more  specifically  referred 
to  in  the  next  verse — ''a  horrible  pit,"  a  pit  of  destruction  or  of 
desolation;  'Hhe  miry  clay,"  where  the  foot  slips  and  slides.  The 
exact  historical  background  of  this  thrilling  experience  is  un- 
known to  us.  But  we  have  here  a  vivid  description  of  danger  and 
difficulty.   And  out  of  this  pit  and  from  this  miry  clay  Jehovah, 


JEHOVAH  HATH  PUT  A  NEW  SONG  IN  MY  MOUTH      17 

the  God  of  covenant  and  mercy,  delivered  his  servant.  *'He 
brought  me  up,"  is  the  grateful  record.  ''And  set  my  feet  upon 
a  rock,  and  established  my  goings."  Then  was  the  psalmist  glad 
and  sang  for  joy.  ''The  psalmist  did  not  need  to  be  bidden  to 
praise ;  a  new  song  welled  from  his  lips  as  by  inspiration.  Silence 
was  more  impossible  to  his  glad  heart  than  even  to  his  sorrow.  To 
shriek  for  help  from  the  bottom  of  the  pit  and  to  be  dumb  when 
lifted  to  the  surface  is  a  child's  part." 

Hard  and  gloomy  is  the  life  of  the  man  who  lives  after  the 
flesh.  He  is  down  in  a  pit  of  horror,  his  feet  are  fast  in  miry  clay. 
There  may  be  periods  of  seeming  joy — but  joy  only  after  the 
flesh.  There  may  be  times  of  singing — but  the  songs  will  be 
worldly.  Oftener,  at  least  for  the  soul  striving  upward,  there  will 
rise  shrieks  of  pain  and  cries  for  help  from  the  pit  of  sin.  "Have 
mercy  upon  me,  0  God,"  will  be  the  prayer  of  a  heart  truly  realiz- 
ing its  sad  plight. 

God  does,  in  mercy,  hear  the  repenting  sinner's  cry  for  help. 
He  delivers  the  soul  of  the  lost.  He  reaches  forth.  He  takes  hold 
of  the  prisoner  in  the  pit.  He  brings  him  out,  and  sets  his  feet  in 
a  rock  and  establishes  his  goings.  It  is  the  Lord  on  whom  we  are 
patiently  to  wait :  it  is  he  who  will  incline  unto  us  and  hear  our 
cry.  And  when  the  plea  for  mercy  has  been  answered,  the  new 
song  wells  from  the  lips  of  the  saved. 

This  is  the  song  men  sing  in  the  Church,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Grace.  It  is  a  song  of  praise  unto  our  God.  It  is  not  a  song  in 
praise  of  human  merit  and  achievement.  It  is  not  an  epic  begin- 
ning with  words  like  these:  "Arms  and  a  hero  I  sing."  The  new 
song  magnifies  the  Lord,  Jehovah,  and  his  gracious  power.  "He 
hath  redeemed  my  soul"  is  the  burden  of  the  song.  And  when  a 
man  has  experienced  the  redeeming  power,  how  can  he  keep  still? 
His  soul  overflows  with  joy  and  praise.  "Bless  the  Lord,  0  my 
soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  his  holy  name." 


13  PXJNERAL     SERMONS 

Endowed  by  nature  with  a  splendid  voice,  spending  time  and 
money  on  the  culture  of  her  voice,  your  sister  had  advanced  far  in 
the  heavenly  art  of  song.  She  not  only  enjoyed  natural  advan- 
tages, but  made  use  of  these,  and  was  ambitious  to  rise.  You 
encouraged  her  in  this  laudable  ambition.  You  did  all  in  your 
power  to  make  possible  the  realization  of  her  dreams.  At  last  the 
time  came  when  she  was  privileged  to  give  pleasure,  with  the 
voice  of  song  and  praise,  to  hundreds.  Not  only  did  she  sing  the 
songs  which  are  considered  classic  by  the  world,  but  she  took 
delight  in  the  songs  of  Zion.  Never  was  she  happier  than  when 
she  had  opportunity  to  help  swell  the  song  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving in  the  sanctuary.  And  never,  I  am  certain,  were  you 
happier  than  w^hen  you  heard  her  in  the  choir  loft,  rejoiced  with 
her  in  the  congregational  singing.  Even  here  the  song  would  be 
spoiled  unless  sung  in  the  spirit  of  the  psalmist.  But  we  believe 
that  your  sister  really  felt  the  joy  of  the  redeemed,  and  caught 
something  of  the  inspiration  that  comes  from  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Sincerely  could  she  pray  and  sing  : 

'*0  may  Thy  love  inspire  my  tongue; 

Salvation  shall  be  all  my  song,  , 

And  all  my  power  shall  join  to  bless 

The  Lord,  my  Strength  and  Eighteousness. '' 

The  sweetest  songs  this  world  knows  are  those  sung  in  praise 
of  the  Name  that  is  above  every  name — the  name  of  Jesus,  our 
Savior. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  one  incident  which  always 
gave  your  sister  and  yourselves  so  much  satisfaction.  She  never 
forgot  the  day  of  the  present  pastor's  induction  into  his  office 
here.  She  sang  a  solo  at  that  service.  How  heartily  and  gladly 
she  sang !  She  counted  it  a  happy  privilege  to  have  a  part  in  that 
solemn  service.  Up  to  her  dying  day  she  remembered  it.  May  God 
graciously  have  rewarded  her  for  her  service  in  Jesus'  name. 


JEHOVAH  HATH  PUT  A  NEW  SONG  IN  MY  MOUTH      19 

And  now,  shall  we  not  join  with  her  to  ''bless  the  Lord,  our 
Strength  and  Righteousness ' '  ?  You  do  not  understand  why  your 
heavenly  Father  has  permitted  this  sorrow  to  come  unto  your 
home?  You  cannot  see  why  he  should  remove  one  so  young  and 
talented?  why  the  voice  of  this  daughter  of  music  should  be 
silenced?  why  all  the  song  and  gladness  should  have  gone  out  of 
your  home?  Oh,  remember  the  days  of  pleasure  you  have  had;  be 
assured  of  your  sister's  presence  in  ''the  choir  invisible";  take 
upon  your  own  lips  the  new  song,  the  song  of  the  redeemed.  Sing 
that  song  where  she  sang  it — in  the  home  and  in  the  courts  of 
God's  house.  The  echoes  of  the  voice  that  is  no  more  you  will 
seem,  sometimes  to  hear ;  the  silent  instrument  will  call  up  tender 
memories ;  and  you  will  be  heartsick  because  of  all  this.  Turn  the 
more  earnestly  to  him  who  inspires  us  with  songs  of  praise.  The 
deeper  note  has  come  into  your  life.  That  is  music  too.  Perhaps, 
as  the  days  pass,  you  will  find  that  God  can  use  you,  in  the  service 
of  his  church,  in  service  to  your  fellow-men,  all  the  better  because 
of  the  sorrow^  that  has  come  into  your  lives.  You  are  still  in  the 
Church  on  Earth — the  Kingdom  of  Grace. 

''Praise  thou  the  Lord,  who  thy  life  has  so  visibly  guided. 
Streams  of  free  grace,  in  his  Son,  for  thy  sin  hath  provided; 
Plain  to  thy  view, 
God,  the  Almighty  and  true, 
Ne'er  from  his  child  is  divided.'' 

Does  the  new  song  of  praise  unto  our  God  end  at  death?  It 
would  be  more  than  a  pity,  it  would  be  a  real  tragedy,  if  that 
were  true.  There  are  those  who  try  to  satisfy  their  minds  by  say- 
ing that  the  beautiful  art  of  music  is  age-long,  practically  eternal, 
in  duration — that  it  will  be  transmitted  from  generation  to  gen- 
eration ;  but  the  singer  will  not  live  on — his  lips  will  be  silenced 
forever.  Such  claims  cannot  satisfy  the  longings  of  our  souls.  We 
believe  that  the  new  song  will  be  sung  in  the  Church  in  Heaven — 


20 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


the  Kingdom  of  Glory;  and  it  will  be  sung  by  those  who  sang  it 
here  and  died  with  the  song  on  their  lips. 

In  Revelation  14:  3  we  read:  ''And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  new 
song  before  the  throne.'^  In  the  chapter  following,  verse  three, 
we  read:  ''And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God, 
and  the  song  of  the  Lamb,  saying.  Great  and  marvelous  are  thy 
works.  Lord  God  Almighty;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou 
King  of  saints."  As  glory  to  God  was  sung  centuries  ago  in  the 
heavenly  heights,  so  it  has  always  been  since  angels  struck  their 
harps  and  lifted  their  voices  in  praise  to  God.  And  so  it  will 
always  be.  Only,  the  angelic  choir  will  be  augmented,  and  is 
continually  being  augmented,  by  the  saints  who  have  passed  or 
are  passing  from  grace  to  glory.  They  that  have  gotten  the  victory 
over  the  beast  (Rev.  15:  2)  will  celebrate  their  triumph  when  they 
have  crossed  the  sea  and  have  entered  the  land  of  promise. 

What  will  be  the  character  of  the  song  in  glory?  It  will  still 
be  a  song  of  praise  unto  our  God.  There  will  be  remembrances  of 
the  mercies  experienced  while  the  pilgrim  was  on  the  way.  The 
tongue  of  the  redeemed  will  never  tire  of  telling  the  story  of 
grace.  God's  way  of  saving  men — a  God-man,  our  Saviour;  put 
under  the  law ;  suffering  the  penalties  of  the  law ;  raised  up  from 
the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father;  believed  on  in  the  world; 
received  up  into  glory — this  old,  but  precious,  story  will  not  have 
lost  its  charm.  "There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God 
over  one  sinner  that  repenteth"  (Luke  15:  10).  That  joy  will  not 
grow  less  with  the  advent  into  glory  of  the  redeemed  sinner.  The 
song  of  praise  will  be  the  greater  for  the  presence  of  the  great 
choir  of  the  saved. 

The  new  song  in  glory  will  commemorate  the  last  great  strug- 
gle and  the  believer's  triumph  in  that  event.  The  terrors  of  death 
are  enough  to  make  the  strongest  tremble.  Satan's  attacks  will 
keep  on  to  the  very  end.  The  song  of  the  sirens  luring  men  to 
destruction  will  be  heard  until  death  intervenes.  But  then,  what 


JEHOVAH  HATH  PUT  A  NEW  SONG  IN  MY  MOUTH      21 

an  outburst  of  triumphant  song :  ' '  So  when  this  corruptible  shall 
have  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  im- 
mortality, then  shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written, 
*' Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting? 
0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?  .  .  .  But  thanks  be  to  God, 
which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (I 
Cor.  15:  54,  55,  57).  When  we,  through  Christ  and  with  Christ, 
have  ''overcome  the  sharpness  of  death,"  when  we  shall  be  num- 
bered with  the  saints  ''in  glory  everlasting,"  we  shall  join  in  the 
"Te  Deum  Laudamus" — "We  praise  thee,  oh  God;  we  acknowl- 
edge thee  to  be  the  Lord." 

The  new  song  in  heaven  will  be  employed  in  praising  and 
worshiping  God  in  his  ever  new  revelations  of  himself — his  love, 
his  majesty,  his  power.  "We  worship  thy  name,  ever,  world  with- 
out end."  As  God's  mercies  in  this  vale  of  tears  are  every  morn- 
ing new,  so  on  the  mountain  heights  of  glory  will  every  hour, 
every  moment,  disclose  to  us  some  new  wonder  from  among  his 
infinite  perfections.  The  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,"  of  the  seraphim 
will  sound  forth  in  heavenly  places.  Endless  alleluias  will  ring 
down  the  corridors  of  the  skies.  What  a  prospect!  "Eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him" 
(I  Cor.  2:9). 

Sister,  thou  art  today  in  heaven,  singing  with  the  choirs  of 
angels.  Ah,  that  we  were  with  thee!  "In  psalms  and  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs"  didst  thou  in  earth  sing  with  grace  in  thy  heart 
to  the  Lord.  Now  thou  hast  joined  "the  choir  invisible,"  and 
with  cherubim  and  seraphim  continually  dost  cry  before  the 
throne:  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth;  heaven  and 
earth  are  full  of  the  majesty  of  thy  Glory."  We  strain  our  ears 
to  hear  "voices  from  heaven,  intoned  with  mighty  joy,  and  at- 
tuned to  golden  harps,"  engaged  in  a  new  song  "fit  to  be  sung 
before  the  throne  and  all  the  celestial  company." 


22  FtTNERAL    SERMONS 

Saints  on  earth,  sing  on!  Sing  the  new  song — the  song  of 
Jesus,  the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
Above  the  fears  and  the  doubts,  above  the  tumults  and  the  striv- 
ings of  this  wicked  world,  let  your  song  of  praise  unto  your  God 
ring  out.  If,  sometimes,  the  tears  come  into  your  eyes  while  you 
sing,  this  will  only  mean  that  greater  tenderness  and  sweetness 
will  come  into  your  voices,  and  you  will  sing,  as  never  before,  the 
song  of  ''love  divine  all  love  excelling." 

"Awake,  my  soul,  in  joyful  lays, 

And  sing  thy   great   Redeemer's  praise; 
He  justly  claims  a  song  from  me, 
His  loving-kindness,  O  how  free! 
He  saw  me  ruined  in  the  fall, 
Yet  loved  me  notwithstanding  all; 
He  saved  me  from  my  lost  estate, 
His  loving-kindness,  O  how  great! 

"Soon  shall  I  pass  the  gloomy  vale, 
Soon  all  my  mortal  powers  must  fail; 
O  may  my  last  expiring  breath 
His  loving-kindness  sing  in  death! 
Then  let  me  mount  and  soar  away 
To  the  bright  world  of  endless  day, 
And  sing  with  rapture  and  surprise. 
His  loving-kindness  in  the  skies.'' 

Amen. 


A  GROUP  OP  GODLY  MEN  AS  MOURNERS 
By  Rev.  W.  E.  Schramm 

**And  his  disciples  came  and  took  up  the  hody  and  huried  it,  and  went 
and  told  Jesus.  "—Matt.  14:  12. 

Occasion:  For  a  Christian  Young  Man 

It  is  a  sad  dispensation,  my  dear  brethren,  which  has  brought 
us  together  today.  We  are  called  upon  to  weep  with  those  who 
weep.  As  we  contemplate  the  loss  which  these,  our  friends,  have 
sustained,  we  feel  the  sting  of  sympathetic  tears  in  our  own  eyes. 
As  we  consider  this  great  sorrow  which  has  come  into  their  lives, 
we  experience  a  sympathetic  ache  in  our  own  heart. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  a  morbid  curiosity  which  has  drawn  us 
hither  in  this  hour.  If  we  had  come  with  a  curious  desire  to  see 
and  hear,  it  were  better  had  we  left  our  friends  alone  in  their 
grief.  No,  our  eager  desire  is  to  serve.  Our  ardent  wish  is  to  be 
helpful.  To  this  end  we  tender  our  sincere  sympathy.  To  this  end 
we  offer  our  earnest  prayers.  But,  dear  sorrowing  brethren,  far 
more  important  than  our  human  sympathy  is  the  heavenly  coun- 
sel and  consolation  which  we  would  bear  to  you  today.  We  would 
bring  you  a  soothing,  healing  draught  from  that  fountain  of 
comfort  which  our  loving  Lord  has  given  us  in  his  Word. 

You  will  notice  that  the  text  I  have  chosen  is  a  very  brief 
account  of  a  funeral  which  was  held  many  centuries  ago.  John 
the  Baptist  had  died  a  violent  death,  and  when  the  news  of  this 
outrage  reached  the  ears  of  the  men  who  had  been  John's  disci- 
ples, they  came  and  rendered  the  last  honors  to  the  body  of  their 
revered  master. 

23 


24  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

The  details  of  John's  funeral  are  not  given  us  in  this  record. 
Nothing  is  said  of  the  burial  customs  which  obtained  in  those 
days.  No  mention  is  made  of  any  ceremony  of  any  character.  Of 
the  hour  and  place  of  burial,  no  hint  is  given.  All  that  is  said 
touching  this  funeral  of  long  ago  is  expressed  in  two  very  concise 
statements.  But  these  two  statements  I  regard  as  being  in  a  high 
degree  profitable  for  our  meditation.  Let  us  study  this  funeral. 
Let  us  scrutinize  the  mourners.  Let  us  carefully  observe  their 
conduct  in  their  day  of  mourning,  not,  of  course,  from  any  idle 
curiosity,  but  with  a  desire  for  helpful  instruction. 

These  mourners  were  godly  men.  No  other  class  of  men  would 
have  been  attracted  to  such  a  leader  as  the  Baptist  was.  Addi- 
tional evidence  of  their  godliness  is  given  us  in  the  fact  that 
some  of  these  same  men  became  the  chosen  apostles  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  The  example  of  such  men  is  always  worthy  of  study  and  it 
is  usually  worthy  of  imitation.  Even  as  mourners  these  men  are 
teachers.  I  am  directing  your  attention  to  this  incident,  at  this 
time,  because  I  desire  you  to  study 

A  Group  of  Godly  Men  as  Mourners 

I.  It  is  evident  from  this  incident,  and  multitudes  of  others 
bear  similar  testimony,  that  godly  souls  are  not  exempt  from 
bitter  grief.  If  any  man  believes,  like  the  friends  who  sought  to 
comfort  Job,  that  only  the  wicked  have  real  sorrows  in  this  life, 
such  a  one  shows  that  he  has  comprehended  neither  the  declara- 
tions of  the  divine  Word  nor  the  lessons  of  divine  providence.  We 
dwell  in  a  world  of  sin,  and  no  degree  of  piety  will  shield  us  from 
those  tribulations  and  sorrows  which  must  abound  where  sin 
reigns, 

John  the  Baptist  was  a  man  of  heroic  type.  He  was  one  of 
God's  true  noblemen.  Jesus  the  Lord  bears  him  the  testimony  that 
**  Among  them  that  are  born  of  women  there  hath  not  risen  a 


A  GROUP  OF  GODLY  MEN  AS  MOURNERS    25 

greater  than  John  the  Baptist."  If  faithfulness  to  God  were  a 
guaranty  of  a  life  free  from  suffering  and  sorrow,  then  certainly 
the  life  of  John  the  Baptist  should  have  been  a  bright  and  happy 
one.  And  yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  this  faithful  soul  encountered 
a  goodly  amount  of  tribulation.  He  had  hardships  to  face,  he  ex- 
perienced all  the  discomforts  of  poverty,  and  finally  he  had 
persecution  of  a  most  cruel  character  with  which  to  contend. 
Sorrow  and  suffering  were  his  lot  especially  in  the  closing  scenes 
of  his  life.  It  is  a  pitiful  story.  It  moves  us  to  sadness  every  time 
we  read  it.  Because  his  faithfulness  had  offended  a  weak  and 
vicious  king,  John  was  cast  into  a  vile  dungeon.  To  gratify  the 
hatred  of  a  fiendish  woman,  this  great  and  good  man  was  cruelly 
murdered. 

We  can  imagine,  at  least  to  some  extent,  what  must  have  been 
the  grief  of  John's  disciples  when  they  came  and  bore  the  muti- 
lated body  of  their  dear  friend  away  for  burial.  Intense  grief 
mingled  with  deep  perplexity  must  have  filled  their  hearts.  To 
have  their  beloved  teacher  taken  from  them  was  sufficient  to 
make  mourners  of  them,  but  the  manner  in  which  death  had 
come  to  him  must  have  added  greatly  to  their  sorrow.  To  know 
that  John  had  been  dealt  with  as  though  he  were  a  vile  felon 
when  he  was  in  truth  a  pious,  faithful  servant  of  God,  that  must 
have  made  deep  and  heavy  the  gloom  which  oppressed  them. 

So  then  we  have  here  an  example  of  a  noble.  God-fearing 
m-an,  who  during  his  earthly  life  drank  repeatedly  from  the 
bitter  cup  of  suffering.  And  at  his  funeral  we  behold  a  group  of 
devout  souls.  True-hearted  followers  of  God  they  doubtless  were, 
and  yet  they  were  mourners.  Nor  are  these  exceptional  cases. 
On  the  other  hand  they  are  very  common.  Satan  may  come  to  us 
in  the  hour  of  sorrow  and  hold  up  our  suffering  to  us  as  an 
argument  that  we  are  not  in  truth  the  children  of  God,  or  that 
God  does  not  love  us,  but  every  such  insinuation  emanates  from 
the  father  of  lies.  Holy  Scripture  assures  us  that  whom  the  Lord 


26  FUNERALSERMONS 

loveth  he  chasteneth,  and  this  assurance  is  daily  confirmed  in  the 
experience  of  men  and  women  of  whom  we  know  that  the  Lord 
is  their  God.  It  is  vain  to  expect  that  our  life  shall  be  immune 
from  sorrow  in  a  world  of  sin.  We  must  through  much  tribula- 
tion enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  We,  that  is,  we  Christians, 
even  the  most  godly  among  us,  must  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God  through  much  tribulation.  None  is  exempt  from  sorrow  and 
grief. 

II.  But,  my  dear  brethren,  my  chief  desire  on  this  occasion  is 
not  merely  to  impress  upon  your  minds  the  universality  of  sorrow. 
I  desire  especially  to  hold  up  for  your  imitation  the  conduct  of 
these  devout  mourners  to  whom  allusion  is  made  in  this  text. 
These  mourners  went  and  told  Jesus.  And  this  suggests  the  sec- 
and  chief  thought  of  my  message  to  you  today:  Godly  souls,  in 
the  day  of  their  sorrow,  will  go  with  their  burden  of  grief  to 
Jesus.  And  his  disciples  came  and  took  up  the  body  and  buried 
it,  and  went  and  told  Jesus. 

Just  how  Jesus  dealt  with  these  mourners  when  they  came  to 
him  is  not  revealed  to  us.  Yet  we  can  conjecture  with  a  fair 
degree  of  accuracy  the  consoling  truth  which  he  would  impart  to 
them.  We  know  the  counsel  which  divine  wisdom  dictated  on 
other  occasions.  We  know  the  comfort  which  divine  love  offered 
to  other  mourners.  We  know  the  peace  which  divine  grace  im- 
parted to  other  souls  in  the  time  of  their  affliction.  We  know,  too, 
that  divine  truth  and  divine  attributes  are  unchanging.  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  same  yesterday,  today  and  forever.  Accordingly  it 
is  perfectly  safe  to  assume  that  the  Savior  applied  to  these  mourn- 
ers the  same  soothing  balm  which  he  used  for  the  healing  of 
other  anguished  hearts. 

I  am  confident  that  he  spoke  to  them  of  the  significance  of  a 
believer's  death.  John  was  a  child  of  God,  steadfast  and  loyal. 
John  had  exhorted  other  men  to  behold  in  Jesus  the  Lamb  of 
God,  which  takfeth  away  the  sin  of  the  world.    He  himself  had 


A  GROUP  OF  GODLY  MEN  AS  MOURNERS    27 

embraced  the  world's  Sin-Bearer  as  his  personal  Savior.  Of  such 
it  is  written :  He  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet 
shall  he  live:  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall 
never  die.  Herod's  soldiers  had  slain  the  body  of  John,  but  his 
spirit  was  with  the  Lord;  alive  forever  more.  The  executioner's 
sword,  ghastly  though  it  seemed,  had  in  reality  severed  the  lock 
from  a  prison  house,  and  opened  the  way  for  John's  captive 
spirit  to  go  home  to  God.  The  Baptist's  body  had  suffered  vio- 
lence, but  it  was  well  with  his  soul.  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son 
hath  everlasting  life. 

Perhaps  Jesus  told  these  men  how  blessed  are  the  dead  which 
die  in  the  Lord.  It  would  be  a  source  of  sweet  comfort  to  these 
mourners  to  be  assured  that  this  dispensation,  which  meant  bitter 
sorrow  to  them,  meant  liberty  and  rest  and  perfect  peace  to  their 
beloved  friend.  It  would  remove  the  sting  from  their  grief  to 
know  that  while  they  had  lost  a  friend,  heaven  had  gained  a 
saint,  and  John  had  gained  a  fadeless  crown.  To  hear  the  Master 
speak  of  the  Father's  house  of  many  mansions  where  the  saints 
mingle  with  the  angels  of  God  around  the  throne  of  glory,  and  to 
know  that  their  friend  had  entered  this  state  of  bliss  and  into 
this  goodly  fellowship,  surely  that  would  be  a  soothing  lotion  to 
the  aching  hearts  of  these  mourners. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  exact  words  which  the  Savior 
spoke  to  these  men,  you  may  be  sure  that  he  gave  them  a  message 
of  true  comfort  and  of  real  strength.  After  they  had  poured  their 
tale  of  grief  into  his  sympathetic  ear,  and  after  they  had  listened 
to  the  words  of  compassion  and  consolation  which  he  imparted 
to  them,  you  may  be  certain  that  they  left  his  presence  with 
lightened  hearts  and  with  brightened  hopes.  He  spoke  a  ''Peace, 
be  still,"  to  the  tumult  in  their  souls. 

My  dear  brethren,  I  commend  these  disciples  of  John  for 
going  with  their  burden  of  grief  to  the  Lord.  I  cannot  conceive 
of  any  better  thing  they  could  have  done,  in  their  day  of  sorrow, 


28  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

than  to  go  and  tell  Jesus.  Therefore  I  commend  the  example  of 
these  men  to  you  for  your  imitation  today.  Let  these  godly 
mourners  be  your  teachers.  Go  with  your  burden  of  sorrow,  as 
they  went,  and  tell  Jesus. 

You  may  have  earthly  friends  who  will  not  seek  your  society 
to  any  extent  while  you  are  mourners.  Either  because  they  have 
a  horror  of  trouble  or  because  they  feel  their  helplessness  in  the 
presence  of  sorrow,  some  of  your  earthly  friends  may  actually 
avoid  you  in  the  day  of  adversity.  But  it  is  not  thus  with  your 
Heavenly  Friend.  He  invites  us  to  come  to  him  at  all  times  and 
he  is  particularly  careful  to  assure  us  that  his  invitation  holds 
good  in  a  time  of  adversity.  Yes,  it  sometimes  appears  from  his 
words  as  though  he  welcomes  with  special  tenderness  the  soul 
that  comes  to  him  with  a  burden.  Call  upon  me,  he  says,  in  the 
day  of  trouble :  I  will  deliver  thee.  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Cast  thy 
burden  upon  the  Lord  and  he  shall  sustain  thee.  With  such 
commands  and  such  promises  to  encourage  us,  we  can  go  into 
his  presence  with  any  sorrow,  it  matters  not  how  great  it  may  be, 
we  can  go,  confident  that  we  shall  find  relief  there.  Dear  brethren, 
I  counsel  you  today,  and  whenever  the  remembrance  of  your 
sorrow  becomes  oppressive  to  you.  Go,  and  tell  Jesus. 

But  it  is  needful  also  that  we  tarry  in  the  Savior's  presence 
sufficiently  long  to  hear  and  ponder  the  gracious  words  of 
comfort  which  he  would  address  to  us.  The  divine  Word  is  the 
channel  through  which  the  peace  and  consolation  of  Jesus  are 
conveyed  to  us.  T  am  always  grateful  when,  on  a  funeral  occa- 
sion, I  can  quote  the  splendid  promises  of  God  without  reserve. 
That  is,  I  am  thankful  when  I  can  use  those  blessed  promises 
which  apply  to  the  Christian  dead,  feeling  reasonably  sure  that 
the  deceased  actually  died  in  the  Lord.  I  rejoice  today  that  for 
your  consolation  I  can  draw  on  all  the  comfort  which  the  Gospel 
of  grace  has  to  offer.  Your  loved  one  died  in  the  Lord.  He  gave 


A   GROUP    OF    aODLY   MEN   AS   MOURNERS  29 

US  every  evidence  that  he  lived  in  the  faith  of  Jesus,  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  he  died  in  that  faith.  I  confidently 
believe  that  when  he  closed  his  eyes  here  below,  he  opened  them 
with  Jesus  in  Paradise.  Is  it  not  written:  Blessed  are  the  dead 
which  die  in  the  Lord?  On  the  strength  of  this  divine  guaranty 
we  shall  lay  his  body  in  the  grave,  in  the  sure  and  certain  hope 
of  a  blessed  resurrection  to  eternal  life.  Such  is  the  comfort 
which  the  words  of  Jesus  impart  to  us. 

Therefore  I  entreat  you,  my  dear  brethren.  Go  and  tell  Jesus. 
Pour  out  your  sorrow  in  prayer  to  him  and  he  will  grant  you 
sweet  relief  through  his  Word.  Tarry  in  his  presence  till  he 
speaks  to  you  as  he  once  spoke,  in  the  days  of  his  flesh,  to  his 
sorrowing  apostles:  ''But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all 
things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I 
have  said  unto  you.  Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto 
you :  not  as  the  world  giveth  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid." 

What  a  friend  we  have  in  Jesus, 

All  our  sins  and  griefs  to  bear. 
What  a  privilege  to  carry 

Everything  to  God  in  prayer. 
Oh,  what  peace  we  often  forfeit, 

Oh,  what  needless  pain  we  bear — 
All  because  we  do  not  carry 

Everything  to  God  in  prayer. 

Have  we  trials  and  temptations? 

Is  there  trouble  anywhere? 
We  should  never  be  discouraged; 

Take  it  to  the  Lord  in  prayer. 
Can  we  find  a  Friend  so  faithful, 

Who  will  all  our  sorrows  share? 
Jesus  knows  our  every  weakness. 

Take  it  to  the  Lord  in  prayer.  Amen. 


COME  UNTO  ME 
By  Rev.  Walter  E.  Tressel,  A.  M. 

"Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."— Matt.  11:  28. 

Occasion ;  Used  at  the  funeral  of  a  pastor 's  wife,  who  had  suffered 
long  and  patiently.  Text  selected  by  her 

The  beauty  of  this  invitation  has  compelled  the  admiration 
of  the  world:  its  tenderness  has  touched  the  world's  heart.  These 
words  have  made  special  appeal  to  those  bowed  down  with  care 
and  grief.  Like  thirsty  pilgrims  gathered  about  a  fountain  of 
refreshing  water,  the  heart-broken  sons  and  daughters  of  men 
have  come  to  this  word  of  Jesus  that  they  might  be  refreshed. 
Who  of  us  has  not  in  some  more  than  usually  earnest,  responsible, 
burdensome  moment  of  life,  turned  to  this  priceless  promise  for 
encouragement?  Who  of  us  has  not  sought  to  help  some  sorrow- 
ing friend  by  calling  to  his  remembrance  these  sacred  words? 

To  appreciate  fully  the  wonderful  person  of  our  Savior  as 
revealed  in  the  text,  and  to  get  the  full  significance  of  the  words 
themselves,  some  account  must  be  taken  of  the  various  incidents 
related  in  this  chapter.  The  first  thing  to  be  noted  is  John  the 
Baptist's  anxious  question:  "Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or 
do  we  look  for  another?"  John  the  Baptist  in  doubt!  Things 
don't  seem  to  be  turning  out  auspiciously  for  Christ's  program. 
John  himself  is  in  prison.  He,  the  forerunner,  who  was  sent  to 
prepare  Messiah's  way,  has  suffered  persecution.  Surely,  the 
prospects  for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  are  not  bright.  John's 
fears  and  doubts  were  only  temporary.  But  they  were  real  while 
they  lasted.    In  sending  to  Christ,  he  made  inquiry  of  the  right 


COMEUNTOME  31 

one.  But  what  a  discouragement  to  the  cause  when  one  of  its 
leaders  comes,  if  only  for  a  short  while,  under  the  cloud  of  doubt. 

A  second  thing  is  the  fickleness  and  the  unreasonableness  of 
the  people.  Christ  likens  the  contemporaneous  generation  to 
children  sitting  in  the  markets.  They  want  first  one  thing,  then 
another.  When  their  first  demands  are  met,  they  show  their 
displeasure,  and  immediately  make  new  demands.  Of  John  they 
say,  "He  hath  a  devil."  Concerning  the  Son  of  man  they  say, 
"Behold  a  man  gluttonous  and  a  wine-bibber,  a  friend  of  publi- 
cans and  sinners."  How  discouraging  to  be  subjected  to  the 
shallow  and  merciless  criticisms  of  the  fickle  crowd ! 

The  third  thing  of  note  is  the  unbelief  of  the  cities.  Though 
witnesses  of  most  of  his  mighty  works,  they  repented  not.  Christ 
pronounces  a  woe  upon  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida  and  adds:  "If 
the  mighty  works  which  were  done  in  you  had  been  done  in  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in  sackcloth  and 
ashes."  When  one  puts  forth  his  utmost  endeavor  to  help  men, 
with  what  base  ingratitude  one  is  often  repaid! 

And  how  does  Jesus  meet  this  unhappy,  disheartening  situa- 
tion? He  does  not  lose  faith  in  himself  or  in  his  mission.  He 
sends  an  illuminating  and  encouraging  answer  to  John ;  he  meets 
with  decision  the  superficial  criticism  of  the  vacillating;  he  re- 
bukes the  unbelieving. 

Maintaining  a  heavenly  calm  and  composure,  conducting  him- 
self with  a  dignity  which  exhibits  rare  self-control  and  unfalter- 
ing confidence,  Jesus  thanks  his  Father,  because  these  things  have 
been  hid  "from  the  wise  and  prudent"  and  have  been  revealed 
unto  babes.  The  proud,  self-righteous  and  self-sufficient  have 
utterly  failed  to  appreciate  the  blessings  offered  them :  the  simple- 
hearted,  the  lowly,  the  over-burdened  have  been  waiting  for  just 
this  hour  of  privilege.  They  shall  not  be  denied,  even  though 
powerful  influences  have  worked  against  them  and  have  oppressed 
them.  A  friend  and  champion  appears,  whose  voice,  so  severe  in 


32  FUNERALSEEMONS 

denunciation  of  selfishness  and  Pharisaism,  grows  more  tender 
than  a  mother's  in  the  utterance  of  the  unforgettable  words, 

Come  Unto  Me 

Jesus  gives  the  invitation :  And  who  is  Jesus  ?  One  who  utters 
the  most  tender  of  invitations;  who  speaks  as  never  man  spake; 
who  makes  the  most  astounding  claim,  ''I  (emphatic)  will  give 
you  rest";  who  issues  the  most  remarkable  invitation,  ''Come 
unto  me."  Can  he  be  a  mere  man? 

Jesus  invites.  And  he  has  just  spoken  to  one  he  calls  Father, 
has  spoken  in  terms  the  most  intimate.  And  he  makes  the  claim 
that  the  Father  has  delivered  to  him  all  things,  and  that  "no  man 
knoweth  the  Son,  but  the  Father ;  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son 
will  reveal  him."  He  who  speaks  is  he  concerning  whom  the 
Evangelist  John  testifies  (1:  14)  :  "And  the  Word  became  flesh, 
and  dwelt  among  us,  (and  we  beheld  his  glory,  glory  as  of  the 
only  begotten  from  the  Father),  full  of  grace  and  truth."  "In 
the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and 
the  Word  was  God."  God,  who  appeared  in  human  flesh,  gives 
the  invitation. 

Jesus  invites.  He  is  the  Son  of  man.  He  himself  assumes  and 
uses  that  title.  Though  innocent  of  all  sin — "which  of  you  con- 
victed me  of  sin?"  is  his  bold  challenge — yet  is  he  touched  by 
our  infirmities,  and  is  sympathetic  in  a  sense  which  must  appeal 
to  everyone,  for  he  has  lived  in  poverty,  has  suffered  the  trials, 
has  borne  the  burdens  of  life,  has  endured  temptation  and  perse- 
cution, and  has  tasted  of  death  and  its  pains  for  every  man.  A 
man  of  wide  and  deep  experience,  of  genuine  compassion,  speaks 
the  word  of  invitation.  Yea,  it  is  the  God-man  who  invites. 

This  God-man  is  our  Savior.  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost.  He  gave  his  life  a  ransom  for  many.  This  is  he 
whom  the  Father  delivered  up,  that  "whosoever  believeth  in  him 


COME    UNTO    ME  33 

should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  Wonderful  Person! 
"Wonderful  Savior!   Wonderful  invitation! 

The  invitation  has  its  quality,  its  meaning,  its  power,  from  the 
person  who  extends  it.  From  some  lips  an  invitation  of  any  sort 
w^ould  have  no  meaning  at  all.  It  would  be  presumption,  it  would 
be  an  insult.  Not  so  in  the  present  instance.  When  Jesus  speaks, 
we  grow  intent  to  hear  what  he  has  to  say.  When  Jesus  invites, 
it  behooves  us  to  accept  the  invitation  when  Jesus  seeks  to 
comfort  and  to  help,  we  know  that  we  may  draw  near  in  the  full 
assurance  of  faith.  O  sweet  comfort  in  this  hour  of  grief:  Jesus 
says,  ''Come  unto  me." 

The  Weary  and  the  Heavy-Laden  are  Invited:  Not  for  oppres- 
sor and  dictator,  not  for  tyrant  and  slave-driver,  not  for  rich  and 
prosperous  as  such,  not  for  strong-minded,  self-assertive,  self- 
confident,  is  this  invitation.  Folks  are  invited — plain,  toiling, 
tired,  hungry,  down-trodden,  over-burdened  folks.  God  wants 
the  others  too.  All  souls  are  precious  in  his  sight.  But  the 
domineering  Pharisee  needs  warning  and  rebuke  more  than  com- 
fort, until  he  comes  to  see  himself  as  God  sees  him  and  cries  out 
for  mercy. 

The  weary  and  heavy-laden  are  invited.  Here  are  seekers 
after  the  truth — surely  they  will  find.  Here  are  men  knocking 
at  the  gate  of  life — no  doubt  but  that  the  gate  will  be  opened. 
Here  are  folks  asking,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  and  the 
answer  will  be  given  then.  What  striving  to  do  the  right  thing! 
What  efforts  to  appease  God!  What  have  learned  rabbis  advised? 
What  have  exacting,  unfeeling  Pharisees  imposed?  Anxious  souls 
are  inquiring  as  to  how  peace  with  God  can  be  obtained,  and  the 
law,  in  all  its  vigor  and  fearfulness,  has  been  read  to  them.  And 
still  there  is  no  peace.  Then  traditions  of  the  elders  are  un- 
earthed, and  commandments  of  men  are  taught  as  if  they  were 
doctrines  from  heaven.  Do  these  things  and  ye  shall  live.  Martin 


34  FUNERALSERMONS 

Luther  was,  for  a  time,  in  a  plight  similar  to  that  just  described. 
It  is  said  of  him:  "He  observed  the  minutest  details  of  discipline. 
No  one  surpassed  him  in  prayer,  fasting,  night  watches,  self- 
mortification  .  .  .  But  he  was  sadly  disappointed  in  his  hope 
to  escape  sin  and  temptation  behind  the  walls  of  the  cloister.  He 
found  no  peace  in  all  his  pious  exercises."  In  a  letter  to  one  of 
his  friends,  Luther  writes:  "Now  I  would  like  to  know  whether 
your  soul,  tired  of  her  own  righteousness,  would  learn  to  breathe 
and  confide  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  Many  seek  to  do 
rightly  themselves,  that  they  may  have  courage  to  stand  before 
God  as  though  fortified  with  their  own  virtues  and  merits,  which 
is  impossible." 

The  weary  and  the  heavy-laden  are  invited  to  come  unto  Jesus. 
Physical  approach  is  not  meant.  To  see  Jesus  in  the  flesh  would 
be  counted  a  great  privilege.  To  know  and  to  appreciate  his 
person  and  work  must  be  regarded  as  of  infinitely  greater  im- 
portance. "Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have 
believed"  (John  20:  29).  Coming  to  Jesus  means  to  draw  nigh 
spiritually,  to  approach  the  Savior  in  repentance  and  faith.  The 
weary  and  heavy-laden  are  exhorted  to  use  profitably  the  occa- 
sion and  the  opportunity  created  by  their  deep  sense  of  forlorn- 
ness  and  helplessness.  Their  cry  and  confession  must  be:  "God, 
be  thou  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  Their  plea  must  be:  "Jesus' 
blood, and  righteousness."  For  there  "is  none  other  name  under 
heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved"  except  the 
name  Jesus.  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only- 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish 
but  have  everlasting  life"  (John  3:  16).  "Come  unto  me,"  says 
Jesus.  To  him  as  Savior,  to  him — for  he  has  kept  in  man's  stead 
the  law  which  man  has  broken;  to  him — for  he  has  paid  the' 
penalty  of  man's  transgressions;  to  him — for  he  who  was  deliv- 
ered up  for  our  trespasses  was  raised  for  our  justification.  Jesus 
is  the  heart  of  the  Gospel,  Jesus  is  the  Gospel. 


COME    UNTO    ME  35 

Not  only  of  infinite  tenderness,  but  also  of  priceless  value  to 
us  poor,  burdened  sinners,  is  this  Gospel  call,  ''Come  unto  me." 

Rest  is  promised  to  all  who  come  to  Jesus.  Not  immediate 
immunity  from  persecution;  not  instant  physical  relief  from  ill- 
ness ;  not,  forthwith,  abundance  of  money  and  substance.  Rest  is 
promised — not  physical  rest;  not  surcease  from  labor  and  toil; 
not  exemption  from  large  duties  and  grave  responsibilities.  Rest 
is  promised:  rest  for  a  harassed  conscience;  rest  for  the  mind 
once  perplexed  and  ill  at  ease;  rest  for  the  worried  heart.  Rest 
is  promised:  the  rest  of  those  who  are  in  Christ — the  rest  of 
faith,  the  rest  of  those  who  abide  in  Christ,  the  rest  of  happy  and 
contented  fellowship;  and  the  rest  of  the  new  life,  not  fully 
developed,  and  Oh!  so  sadly  imperfect,  but  nevertheless  a  new 
life,  better  than  the  old  life  of  sin  and  of  alienation  from  God. 
Rest  is  promised ;  the  rest  which  now  we  have  in  hope, — the  rest 
of  the  heavenly  home.  And  hence  we  read:  ''Being  justified  by 
faith,  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ" 
(Rom.  5:1);  and,  at  the  revelation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from 
heaven  (II  Thess.  1:  7)  there  remaineth  "a  sabbath  rest  for  the 
people  of  God"  (Hebrews  4:  9).  Like  those  who  have  slaked 
their  thirst,  we  shall  be  refreshed  and  shall  press  on  to  the  goal. 

Let  us  not  come  short  of  this  promise,  but  hear  and  heed  the 
loving  invitation,  "Come  unto  me,"  then  shall  we  indeed  enter 
into  the  rest  of  God's  people. 

Our  sister  loved  this  word  of  God.  She  filled  her  soul  with  the 
sunshine  of  this  Scripture  passage;  she  drank  the  refreshing 
water  of  life  at  this  fountain;  what  a  comfort  during  the  long 
months  of  patient  suffering  and  waiting.  She  came  to  Jesus. 
"Weary,  heavy-laden,  at  times  deeply  concerned  for  husband  and 
children,  saddened  at  the  realization  that  she  must  leave  this 
world  after  only  so  short  a  time  in  it,  grief-stricken  because  she 
could  not  help  her  husband  who  was  called  to  be  a  minister  of 
Jesus  Christ,  yet  refreshed  beyond  the  power  of  language  to  tell 


36  rUNERALSERMONS 

because  she  brought  her  burdens  and  cares  to  Jesus.  And  how 
tenderly  he  cared  for  her!  Her  burdens  became  his;  he  took 
them  all  on  himself;  he  sustained  her  faith;  he  supported  her  in 
the  last  trials;  and  finally  he  gave  her  rest — heaven's  never- 
ending  Sabbath-rest. 

Dear  brother,  a  heavy  blow  has  fallen  on  you.  With  your 
little  children  you  mourn  today  the  death  of  a  beloved  wife  and 
mother.  Your  loss  has  shaken  your  whole  being.  A  great  joy  and 
comfort  and  help  has  gone  out  of  your  life.  You  have  so  often 
comforted  others:  we  seek  today  to  minister  comfort  to  your 
sorrowing  soul.  Let  the  word  which  upheld  your  dear  wife  be 
your  stay.  You  and  she  together  have  thought  and  talked  over 
this  sublime  word.  You  have  both  found  in  it  the  eternal  prom- 
ise. You  have  been  enabled,  by  this  sweet  word,  to  bear  more 
patiently  your  burden  of  sorrow,  as  you  foresaw  what  was  com- 
ing. And  now  that  your  dear  wife's  sufferings  are  ended,  her 
life,  her  faith,  her  hope,  and  her  dying  request  point  you  and 
your  motherless  children  to  the  consolations  of  this  great  Gospel- 
word:  ''Come  unto  me."  Surely  you,  who  have  admonished  oth- 
ers to  repose  their  faith  in  Christ,  will  not  fail  to  lay  your  hand 
confidently  in  his,  will  not  hesitate  in  humble  faith  and  tender 
love  to  come  unto  him.  And  he  who  has  not  forsaken  those  who 
truly  called  on  him,  will  not  now  forsake  you  as  you  draw  nigh, 
the  tears  in  your  eyes,  but  triumphant  faith  in  your  heart. 

Members  of  this  Christian  congregation:  your  pastor's  be- 
reavement is  also  yours.  The  parsonage  has  become  dear  to  you. 
That  building  housed  precious  lives.  Parents  and  children  lived 
there :  your  pastor  and  his  family.  What  a  happy  home  it  was ! 
And  death  has  invaded  this  home.  You  mourn  with  your  beloved 
pastor.  How  indifferent  congregations  often  are  to  the  needs,  the 
burdens,  the  sorrows  of  faithful,  self-sacrificing  pastors.  Such  a 
crime  is  not  laid  to  your  charge,  thank  God!  Yet  there  are, 
doubtless,  some  among  you  who  are  not  deeply  concerned  about 


COMEUNTOME  37 

the  ministrations  of  the  Gospel,  nor  particularly  interested  in  the 
welfare  or  the  worries  of  the  parsonage.  If  there  be  any  such 
persons  here  today,  may  this  visitation  be  to  them  an  earnest 
admonition.  Ye  hardened  souls,  prepare  to  meet  your  God!  Seek 
to  be,  in  humble  repentance  and  faith,  like  your  pastor's  wife. 
Come  to  Jesus !  Perhaps  it  is  for  you  the  last  call.  Come  today, 
this  moment,  before  the  night  of  death  falls.  God's  blessing  on 
you,  dear  people,  who  in  the  spirit  of  Christ  have  done  what  you 
could.  Faithful  and  sympathetic  women  among  you  have  gone  to 
the  parsonage  and  have  helped.  Some  of  you  have  spoken  earnest, 
comforting  words — words  that  came  straight  from  the  heart  and 
went  to  the  heart.  Others  of  you  couldn't  say  much,  but  your 
tears,  and  your  silent  tokens  of  love,  have  spoken  louder  than 
words.  Oh,  don't  forget  your  pastor  and  family  in  the  dark  days 
to  come.  Brighten,  as  much  as  you  can,  the  lonely  hours.  And 
may  each  of  you  remember,  not  only  the  bereavement  which  your 
pastor,  his  children,  and  yourselves  have  suffered,  but  also  the 
word  which  peals  out  like  a  church-bell  during  this  service: 
''Come  unto  me." 

Immediately  upon  entering  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  hos- 
pitals of  America,  one  stands  before  a  statue  of  heroic  size.  It  is 
an  image  of  the  Christ.  The  head  is  slightly  inclined  toward  the 
observer,  the  arms  are  extended,  the  hands  are  open.  The  whole 
attitude  is  symbolic  of  tenderness  and  sympathy.  On  the  pedestal 
are  recorded  these  words:  "Come  Unto  Me."  How  appropriate 
that  in  a  building,  dedicated  to  the  relief  of  painful  human  ills, 
this  picture  and  symbol  of  divine  love  should  be  placed !  What  a 
lesson  to  preacher,  physician,  and  nurse !  What  a  sermon,  what  a 
message  of  hope,  to  the  suffering  who  came  there  in  quest  of 
healing !  Ah,  my  friends,  through  all  the  world  rings  the  message 
of  our  text,  message  of  divine  love  and  sympathy,  of  inspiration 
and  hope !  Where  men  are  faint  and  ill,  where  eyes  are  sightless 
and  ears  are  deaf,  where  tongues  are  paralyzed  and  arms  hang 


38  FUNERALSERMONS 

helpless,  where  sin  and  Satan  have  done  their  dastardly  and 
deadly  work,  where  gloom  and  despair  sit  enthroned — wherever 
men  have  any  sort  of  need  or  trouble,  stands  the  Christ  (how 
often  unseen  and  unheard),  inviting  in  accents  full  of  pity  and 
mercy:  ''Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy-laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest."  Amen. 


THE   WAY   TO  A  HAPPY  HOME 
By  Rev.  H.  P.  Dannecker 

"Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way?  By  taking  heed 
thereto  according  to  thy  word." — Ps.  119:  9. 

Occasion:  For  a  Young  Man 

Dear  Mourning  Friends : 

The  way  of  a  young  man  has  been  cut  short  by  death.  For 
twenty-six  years  he  trod  this  earth.  For  twenty-six  years  the 
path  of  his  life  was  more  or  less  visible  to  you,  and  though  you 
lost  sight  of  it  now  and  then  as  he  was  absent  from  your  imme- 
diate circle,  you  could  take  it  up  again  as  often  as  he  returned 
into  your  midst.  Man's  footsteps  radiate  from  his  home.  He  goes 
out  from  his  home  and  returns  to  his  home,  and  happy  is  he  if  he 
has  such  a  home  to  which  he  can  always  return.  It  stands  like  a 
light-house  by  the  sea  with  the  lamp  of  love  casting  the  light  of 
welcome  across  his  benighted  path.  What  a  boon  to  your  boy 
was  his  home  when  disease  had  fastened  its  iron  grip  upon  him 
and  he  dragged  his  weary  footsteps  toward  that  home  where  he 
knew  that  loving  hearts  and  willing  hands  would  take  him  in  and 
help  him  bear  his  burden  to  the  full  extent  of  human  ability.  Oh, 
there  is  no  place  like  a  home  to  die  in.  There  is  no  nurse  like  a 
loving  mother.  There  is  no  counselor  like  a  loving  father. 

'^  'Mid  pleasures  and  palaces,  tho'  oft  we  may  roam. 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there  is  no  place  like  home.'' 

It  certainly  must  be  a  source  of  comfort  to  you  to  know  that 
your  boy  died  at  home. 

But  his  earthly  way  has  been  cut  short.  There  will  be  no  more 
footsteps  of  his  leading  out  from  his  earthly  home  and  back 

39 


40  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

again.  We  carry  him  out,  and  no  one  will  carry  him  back.  He 
has  no  further  need  of  such  a  home.  But  what  has  become  of 
him?  What  has  happened?  Where  has  he  gone?  Will  he  never 
come  back  again  to  tell  you  where  he  has  gone?  Alas,  no;  his 
pathway  has  left  the  earth ;  no  mortal  eye  shall  see  the  tracks  of 
his  wandering  feet,  no  mortal  ear  shall  hear  their  silent  tread. 
They  call  this  death.  But  what  does  it  mean?  Does  it  mean 
annihilation?  Is  there  no  such  thing  as  immortality?  Are  these 
earthly  homes  our  only,  our  last  abode  ?  Is  our  last  gasp  of  breath 
an  eternal  farewell  to  life  and  existence?  Is  your  son  nothing 
now — like  a  last  year's  flower,  or  is  he  something  still,  a  living 
being  whom  you  shall  see,  and  know  again  as  you  knew  him  here 
on  earth?  Out  of  his  earthly  home  here  below  he  looked  forward 
and  upward  to  another  home — the  home  of  his  Father  in  heaven. 
Was  that  a  delusion,  a  dream?  Come,  dear  friends,  this  is  a 
question  for  you,  and  never  was  there  such  a  time  to  answer  it. 
Where  is  the  son,  the  brother,  the  young  man  whom  the  icy  hand 
of  death  has  dragged  out  of  his  warm,  loving  home  on  earth  ? 

I  believe  that  he  has  found  another  home.  I  believe  that  he  is 
still  living.  I  believe  that  you  may  see  him  again.  I  believe  what 
Jesus  said:  ''I  am  the  resurrection,  and  the  life:  he  that  believeth 
in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live;  and  whosoever 
liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die"  (John  11:  25.  26). 
''In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions"  (John  14:  2).  There 
is  another  home  for  us  poor  mortals,  a  home  not  made  with  hands, 
a  home  to  take  us  in  when  earth  will  cast  us  off.  And  there  is  a 
way  that  leads  to  it,  which  all  may  find  who  seek.  Let  me  speak 
to  you  of  that  way. 

The  Way  to  a  Happy  Home  after  Death 

Our  text  points  out : 

1.  What  that  way  is. 

2.  How  it  may  be  found. 


THEWAYTOAHAPPYHOME  41 

The  way  that  leads  to  the  heavenly  home  of  peace  and  rest 
with  God  can  only  be  a  clear  way.  Why  does  the  Psalmist  ask 
the  question:  ''Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way?" 
Because  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  for  a  young  man  to  have 
a  clean  way.  Because  all  depends  upon  such  a  clean  way.  Be- 
cause a  clean  w^ay  is  the  only  kind  of  a  way  that  will  lead  him 
safely  home  to  God.  Because  an  unclean  way,  a  godless  life,  a 
sinful  career  leads  to  hell,  to  the  eternal  prison  prepared  for  the 
devil  and  his  angels.  It  is  not  a  question  of  mere  taste;  it  is  a 
question  of  life  and  death.  It  is  not  only  a  nice  and  an  expedient 
thing  for  a  young  man  to  have  a  clean  way,  a  clean,  a  sinless,  a 
blameless,  a  holy  life,  but  it  is  the  only  way  that  leads  home  to 
heaven.  ''Follow  peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness,  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord"  (Heb.  12:  14).  "Be  ye  holy;  for  I  am 
holy,"  says  the  Lord  our  God  (Peter  1:  16).  "Be  ye  therefore 
perfect"  (Matt.  5:  48).  "Thou  art  not  a  God  that  hath  pleasure 
in  wickedness:  neither  shall  evil  dwell  with  thee"  (Ps.  5:4).  An 
unclean  way,  a  sinful  life  does  not  lead  to  heaven  but  to  hell. 

But  now  then  can  any  man  get  to  heaven?  Does  any  man  on 
earth  lead  a  perfect,  a  sinless  life?  Can  any  man  stand  upon  the 
threshold  of  eternity  and  look  back  over  a  perfectly  clean  way — 
a  sinless  and  spotless  life?  The  Scriptures  say:  "If  we  say  that 
we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves,  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us" 
(I  John  1:8).  No  honest  man  will  ever  say:  "I  never  failed;  I 
never  did  wrong;  my  way  is  clean."  It  is  only  the  hypocrite  who 
dares  to  spread  out  his  hands  to  God  and  say:  "They  are  clean." 
An  honest  man  will  smite  his  breast  like  the  publican  and  say: 
"God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  This  deplorable  condition, 
this  uncleanness  before  God,  is  not  confined  to  the  old.  "We  are 
all  as  an  unclean  thing,  and  all  our  righteousnesses  are  as  filthy 
rags,"  says  Isaiah  (Isaiah  64:  6).  "The  imagination  of  man's 
heart  is  evil  from  his  youth,"  says  Moses  (Gen.  8:  21).  And 
David,  looking  way  back  to  his  very  conception,  says:  "Behold, 


42  FUNERALSERMONS 

I  was  shapen  in  iniquity;  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me" 
(Ps.  51:  5).  And  what  does  the  question  in  our  text  mean: 
' '  Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ? "  if  the  young 
are  sinless?  Why  advise  young  people  how  to  cleanse  their  way 
if  that  way  is  clean?  Oh,  it  is  a  fatal  delusion,  with  which  the 
devil  blinds  so  many  young  people  and  makes  them  feel  carnally 
secure — this  notion  that  one  must  be  an  old  sinner  before  he  has 
any  cause  to  fear  the  wrath  of  God  and  pay  any  serious  attention 
to  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  It  is  not  God  nor  his  Word,  nor  his 
people,  but  it  is  the  frivolous  world  and  its  reckless  followers 
who  excuse  the  sins  of  the  young  as  harmless  ebullitions  of 
youthful  spirit,  or  as  wild  oats  that  all  must  sow  and  can  sow 
without  jeopardizing  their  immortal  souls.  It  is  a  delusion  of  the 
devil  to  imagine  that  God  does  not  hold  young  men  and  women 
accountable  for  every  transgression  of  his  law  of  which  they 
become  guilty.  God's  Word  says:  '^ Rejoice,  0  young  man,  in  thy 
youth ;  and  let  thy  heart  cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  and 
walk  in  the  ways  of  thine  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes : 
but  know  thou,  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into 
judgment"  (Eccl.  11 :  9).  Far  from  excusing  the  sins  of  his  youth, 
David  specifies  them  in  his  prayer  for  forgiveness  and  says: 
*' Remember  not  the  sins  of  my  youth,  nor  my  transgressions" 
(Ps.  25:  7).  Let  us  then  have  done  with  this  popular  deception 
that  a  young  man's  way  is  not  polluted  by  the  sins  of  his  youth 
and  that  the  young  are  not  under  divine  condemnation  on  account 
of  their  transgressions.  '^ There  is  no  difference:  for  all  have 
sinned,"  the  young  and  the  old,  "and  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
God"  (Rom.  3:  22).  And  the  soul  that  sinneth  has  not  the  prom- 
ise of  life  and  a  home  in  heaven,  but  must  die. 

Remembering  now  that  the  only  way  that  leads  to  heaven  is  a 
clean  way,  and  that  no  man's  way  is  clean  by  nature,  what  hope 
have  we  poor  sinners  of  ever  entering  a  happy  home  after  death? 
None  at  all,  if  left  to  our  own  resources,  to  our  own  righteous- 


THEWAYTOAHAPPYHOME  43 

ness.  None  at  all,  unless  God,  in  his  infinite  goodness  and  mercy, 
prepares  a  new  way.  And  blessed  be  his  name  for  evermore,  he 
has  found  a  new  way  to  bring  the  sinner  home.  He  has  found 
and  provides  us  with  that  which  will  cleanse  the  sinner's  way, 
which  will  take  away  the  pollution  of  sin.  You  cannot  brush  sin 
off  your  soul  as  you  brush  the  dust  from  your  clothes.  Sin  stains : 
it  stains  deeply  and  all  the  cleansing  preparations  of  man  will 
never  take  it  out.  But  I  am  glad  that  it  can  be  taken  out  of  a 
soul.  I  am  glad  that  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  ugly  stain 
was  taken  out  of  this  young  soul  whose  mortal  clay  lies  before  us 
in  this  coffin.  There  is  an  acid  that  will  take  away  the  stain  of 
sin:  there  is  a  laver  that  will  cleanse  a  young  man's  and  an  old 
man's,  a  young  woman's  and  an  old  woman's  way,  that  will  leave 
a  sinner  as  white  as  snow  though  his  sins  be  red  like  crimson.  It 
is  the  precious  blood  of  Jesus  that  trickled  down  the  cross  on 
Calvary.  It  is  the  blood  of  God's  own  Lamb,  that  was  shed  for  the 
remission  of  sins.  ' '  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin"  (I  John  1:  7).  Who  are  they  that  have  reached 
the  beautiful  hom.e  and  stand  around  the  throne  of  God  in  gar- 
ments so  clean,  so  white?  ''These  are  they  which  came  out  of 
great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb"  (Rev.  7:  14). 

Jesus  is  the  only  way  that  leads  to  a  happy  home  after  death. 
''I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life:  no  man  cometh  to  the 
Father,  but  by  me"  (John  14:  6).  No  young  man  and  no  old  man 
will  ever  be  able  to  cleanse  his  way,  purge  his  conscience  of  guilt, 
escape  the  penalty  of  his  transgressions  except  through  the  aton- 
ing blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  ''Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any 
other:  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved"  (Acts  4:  12).  What  a  reason 
to  find  this  one  way !  What  a  reason  to  make  sure  that  you  have 
found  Jesus  and  his  salvation !  Jesus  is  our  only  Savior  and  only 
way  to  heaven  and  home ! 


44  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

"Other  refuge  have  I  none; 
Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee: 
Leave,  oh,  leave  me  not  alone, 
Still  support  and  comfort  me. 
All  my  trust  on  Thee  is  stayed, 
All  my  help  from  Thee  I  bring: 
Cover  my  defenceless  head 
With  the  shadow  of  Thy  wing." 

How  may  Jesus,  the  sinner's  only  way  to  heaven,  be  found? 
How  may  we  become  partakers  of  his  salvation  to  our  poor,  sinful 
souls?  ''Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way?  By 
taking  heed  thereto  according  to  thy  Word."  The  answer  is 
simple  and  to  the  point.  God's  Word  must  be  your  guide,  if  you 
would  find  the  only  way  to  heaven. 

It  is  a  fatal  error  when  men  expect  to  be  saved  without  the 
atoning  blood  of  Christ.  But  it  is  just  as  fatal  an  error  when  they 
expect  to  find  Christ  and  become  partakers  of  his  salvation 
without  the  Word  of  God,  the  divinely  appointed  means  of  grace. 
When  the  Bible  declares  that  ''without  faith  it  is  impossible  to 
please  God"  (Heb.  11:  6),  and  that  "he  that  believeth  not  shall 
be  damned"  (Mark  16:  16),  it  does  not  only  drive  men  to  Christ 
as  the  only  Savior  but  also  to  the  Word  of  God  and  the  sacra- 
ments as  the  only  means  through  which  they  can  become  and 
remain  believers  in  Christ,  or  Christians.  Faith  in  Christ  is 
essential  unto  salvation ;  but  the  Word  of  God  and  the  sacraments 
are  just  as  essential,  because  they  are  the  only  means  given  unto 
us,  through  which  faith  can  be  wrought  in  our  hearts.  As  without 
faith  there  is  no  salvation,  so  without  the  Word  of  God  there  is  no 
faith.  "Faith  cometh  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the  Word  of 
God"  (Rom.  10:  17).  "Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  Word  of 
God  and  keep  it"  (Luke  11:  28).  "They  have  Moses  and  the 
prophets:  let  them  hear  them,"  said  Abraham  to  the  rich  man 
in  hell,  when  he  prayed  that  Lazarus  should  be  sent  to  his 
brethren  on  earth,  to  warn  them  lest  they  also  come  into  the 


THE   WAY   TO    A  HAPPY   HOME  45 

place  of  torment  (Luke  16 :  27-29).  The  rich  man  and  his  brethren 
on  earth  had  an  aversion  to  Moses  and  the  prophets:  they  had 
no  faith  in  the  Word,  but  despised  and  neglected  it  as  a  worthless 
thing.  But  Abraham  insists  on  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  de- 
clares that  if  that  does  not  warn  and  save  them  from  the  torments 
of  the  damned,  nothing  else  will.  It  is  not  only  one  way  out  of 
many,  but  it  is  the  only  waj^  in  which  a  young  man  can  cleanse  his 
way,  by  taking  heed  thereto  according  to  God's  "Word. 

God's  Word  alone  can  bring  men  to  Christ  as  they  must  come 
to  him  if  they  would  be  washed  clean  by  his  precious  blood.  That 
wonderful  change,  the  new  birth  without  which  no  man  can 
enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  is  wrought  by  the  power  of  the 
Word  in  baptism.  No  true  conversion  takes  place  without  the 
Word  of  God.  There  is  no  spiritual  light  and  life,  no  true  repent- 
ance and  faith,  no  nourishment  on  which  faith  can  grow,  no 
strength  to  fight  sin  and  temptation,  no  gratitude  for  divine  fav- 
ors and  blessings,  no  love  for  the  Savior,  no  desire  to  do  the  will 
of  the  Lord,  no  joy  in  his  service,  no  consecration  to  his  cause,  no 
fidelity  to  his  Church  and  people,  without  the  regenerating, 
strengthening,  inspiring  grace  that  flows  from  the  Word  of  God. 
If  you  want  to  get  into  communication  with  God,  in  touch  with 
God,  into  saving  covenant  with  God,  you  must  use  the  Word  of 
God,  and  the  sacraments.  It  is  true,  some  men  are  saved  ''as  by 
fire,"  through  a  weak  faith,  but  even  there  it  is  the  blood  of 
Christ  that  saves  them ;  while  those  who  have  a  strong  faith,  who 
strive  after  holiness  and  are  zealous  in  good  works,  you  will 
always  find  to  be  readers  of  the  Bible  and  regular  attendants  at 
Church  and  the  Lord's  Table.  Oh,  the  Word,  the  precious  Word 
of  God,  if  we  would  use  that  more  faithfully,  how  clean  would  be 
our  way,  how  richly  adorned  with  all  good  works,  how  bright  in 
the  hour  of  death ! 

What  a  blessing  that  you  mourning  parents  could  say  to  your 
dying  son  what  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy:  "And  that  from  a  child 


46 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make 
thee  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus" 
(II  Tim.  3 :  15).  You  may  well  thank  God  that  you  had  not  failed 
to  teach  him  the  savmg  Word  of  God.  He  knew  where  salvation 
was  to  be  found.  He  knew  how  his  way  could  be  cleansed,  and  in 
the  anxious  days  of  his  sickness  his  best,  his  only  comfort  was  the 
blessed  Word  of  God.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  blessed  Word 
ought  to  be  more  precious  to  you  now  than  it  ever  was  before. 
It  cleansed  your  son's  way:  it  brought  him  the  saving  blood. 
It  was  the  only  remedy  that  helped  him.  If  in  your  anxious 
search  you  had  found  a  medicine  to  cure  your  boy's  consumption, 
I  am  sure  you  would  have  published  it,  your  mouths  would  have 
been  full  of  praise,  you  would  have  recommended  it  everywhere. 
Why  not  recommend  the  Word  of  God  now,  treasure  it  more 
highly;  trust  it  more  implicitly  and  resolve  to  use  it  more  faith- 
fully? It  did  more  for  your  boy  than  any  medicine  could  do:  it 
saved  his  soul,  it  gave  him  a  home  in  heaven. 

Is  there  a  young  man  or  a  young  woman  here  today,  who  is 
indifferent  to  God's  Word,  who  has  become  a  stranger  in  church 
and  at  the  Lord's  Table,  who  no  longer  reads  his  Bible  nor 
breathes  a  prayer  to  God — let  him  take  warning,  let  him  heed  the 
lesson  of  this  solemn  hour.  What  a  sermon  this  young  man,  now, 
that  he  has  entered  into  a  full  realization  of  all  that  God's  Word 
caji  do  for  a  poor  sinner,  could  preach  if  he  could  open  his  lips 
and  speak  to  you.  He  would  tell  you  how  he  was  tempted  to 
drift  away  from  the  saving  Word,  and  to  cast  himself  into  the 
seductive  arms  of  the  world,  as  young  people  are  so  sorely  tempted 
to  do  in  these  materialistic  times.  He  would  tell  you  how  his 
sickness  was  a  very  Godsend  to  bring  him  back  again  to  the 
blessed  Word  and  its  Savior.  I  remember  well  how  he  came  to 
me  last  Christmas,  just  before  going  to  Denver,  and  announced 
himself  for  communion.  He  had  not  been  at  the  Lord's  Table 
for  a  good  while,  and  it  seemed  that  he  was  afraid  there  might 


THE   WAY  TO   A  HAPPY   HOME  47 

be  some  objections  to  his  communing.  But  when  I  noticed  the 
tremor  of  his  lips,  the  tears  in  his  eyes,  the  stamp  of  death  upon 
his  brow  and  the  expression  of  a  serious  purpose  on  his  face,  I 
had  not  the  heart  to  reprove  him,  but  said  to  myself :  ' '  This  young 
man  is  in  dead  earnest ;  he  wants  to  get  near  the  Savior  with  his 
heavy  burden,  and  thank  God  he  still  knows  where  to  find  him. ' ' 
Oh,  how  he  would  preach  to  you  if  he  could  speak,  and  tell  you 
that  the  only  way  for  a  young  man  to  cleanse  his  way,  is  by 
taking  heed  thereto  according  to  God's  Word.  God  help  us  all 
to  heed  the  lesson  and  find  the  way  to  the  eternal  home  in  heaven. 
Seek  that  way,  ye  mourning  friends,  and  you  will  meet  your  loved 
one  again  in  that  blessed  home  after  death  where  God  wipes 
away  all  tears. 

**Let  countless  thousands  choose  the  road 
That  leads  the  soul  away  from  God; 
This  happiness,  dear  Lord,  be  mine, 
To  live  and  die  entirely  Thine.*' 

Amen. 


THE  SILVER  CORD  IS  LOOSED,  THE  GOLDEN 
BOWL  IS   BROKEN 

By  Rev.  J.  H.  Kuhlman 

"Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth,  while  the  evil 
days  come  not,  nor  the  years  draw  nigh  when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no 
pleasure  in  them;  while  the  sun,  or  the  light,  or  the  moon,  or  the  stars  he 
not  darkened,  nor  the  clouds  return  after  the  rain:  in  the  days  when  the 
keepers  of  the  house  shall  tremhle,  and  the  strong  men  shall  how  them- 
selves, and  the  grinders  cease  because  they  are  few,  and  those  that  look 
out  of  the  windows,  he  darkened,  and  the  doors  shall  he  shut  in  the 
streets,  when  the  sound  of  the  grinding  is  low,  and  he  shall  rise  up  at  the 
voice  of  the  bird,  and  all  the  daughters  of  music  shall  be  brought  low;  also 
when  they  shall  be  afraid  of  that  which  is  high,  and  fears  shall  be  in  the 
way,  and  the  almond  tree  shall  flourish,  and  the  grasshopper  shall  be  a  bur- 
den, and  desire  shall  fail:  because  man  goeth  to  his  long  home  and  the 
mourners  go  about  the  streets;  or  ever  the  silver  cord  be  loosed,  or  the 
golden  bowl  be  broken,  or  the  pitcher  be  broken  at  the  fountain,  or  the 
wheel  broken  at  the  cistern.  Then  shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it 
was:  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God  who  gave  it.  Vanity  of  vani- 
ties, saith  the  preacher:    all  is  vanity." — Ecclesiastes  12:  1-8. 

Occasion:  Funeral  Sermon  on  the  Death  of  a  Young 
Married  Woman 

Death  is  always  dreadful.  When  he  enters  our  homes,  we 
try  to  hide  that  dreadfulness  as  much  as  possible.  We  try  to  con- 
ceal his  hideous  face,  his  ghastly  countenance.  We  try  to  make 
our  dead  as  beautiful,  as  life-like  as  we  can.  We  clothe  them  in 
white  shrouds.  We  lay  them  in  caskets  with  silken  lining.  We 
heap  flowers  upon  the  bier.  But,  after  all,  death  remains  dread- 
ful, and  we  cannot  deny  it. 

We  also  speak  of  death  in  beautiful  terms,  so  that  we  may  for- 
get his  terror.    We  invent  sweet  names  for  him.    We  summon  to  our 

48 


THE    SILVER    CORD    AND    GOLDEN    BOWL  49 

assistance  all  the  practical  expressions  in  our  language.  We 
speak  of  our  dead  as  those  who  have  departed,  those  who  have 
fallen  asleep,  those  who  have  gone  to  the  farther  shore.  But,  after 
all,  it  amounts  to  very  little.  He  remains  death,  death  the  dread- 
ful one. 

Only  the  Christian  can  really  comfort  himself  with  sweet 
names  for  death.  Only  the  Christian,  who  has  a  risen  Lord,  can 
rightly  use  the  comforting  Scriptural  names  that  describe  death. 
Only  the  Christian  uses  life  aright,  preparing  for  death,  heeding 
the  injunction:  ''Kemember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy 
youth,  while  the  evil  days  come  not  ...  or  ever  the  silver 
cord  be  loosed,  or  the  golden  bowl  be  broken." 

Beautiful,  poetical  words  of  Solomon  concerning  death !  They 
are  part  of  the  word  of  our  God,  and  as  Christians  we  may  use 
them.  As  Christians  we  look  down  today  upon  our  dear  young 
sister,  so  white  and  still  upon  her  snowy-white  bed,  and  say  in 
sorrow  and  yet  with  joy: 

The  Silver  Cord  is  Loosed,  the  Golden  Bowl  is  Broken 

I.  The  Silver  Cord  is  Loosed:  The  silver  cord  that  held  this 
young  life,  that  mysterious  silver  cord  which  bound  together  body 
and  soul,  is  loosed.  The  dust  shall  "return  to  the  earth  as  it  was, 
and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God  who  gave  it."  But  it  is 
only  loosed,  not  severed,  not  torn  asunder;  but  merely  loosed 
during  the  night  of  the  grave,  loosed  long  enough  to  let  the  soul 
slip  out  of  its  bond  for  a  season  and  leave  the  body  lie  alone. 
But  when  the  morning  comes,  the  morning  of  that  great  resur- 
rection day,  the  silver  cord  shall  bind  them  together  again,  this 
body  and  this  soul,  bind  them  together  forever  and  forever. 

The  silver  cord  is  loosed,  that  silver  cord  of  love,  that  bright 
bond  of  pure  affection,  which  bound  you  together,  as  husband 
and  wife,  on  your  marriage  day,  but  which  was  destined  to  hold 
you  in  its  tender  bonds  for,  alas,  so  short  a  time  only.   The  heav- 


50  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

enly  Bridegroom  came  and  called  her.  Listen,  how  Solomon  de- 
scribes this  coming  to  the  church:  ''Rise  up,  my  love,  my  fair 
one,  and  come  away.  For  lo,  the  winter  is  past,  the  flowers  appear 
on  the  earth,  and  the  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come. "  So  it 
was  with  your  bride.  When  the  winter  was  past,  when  the  flow- 
ers began  to  bloom  and  the  birds  began  to  sing,  the  Bridegroom 
came  and  called:  "Rise  up,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come 
away."  But  for  Christians  the  silver  cord  is  only  loosed,  not 
severed,  not  forever  torn  asunder.  It  is  loosed  long  enough  to 
allow  your  dear  wife  to  slip  out  of  it,  for  a  season,  to  leave  you, 
husband,  alone  for  a  little  while — but  only  for  a  little  while. 
There  in  heaven  the  silver  cord  will  be  bound  around  you  both 
again,  and  hold  you  heart  to  heart  forever  and  forever. 

The  silver  cord  is  loosed,  that  silver  cord  of  tender  love  and 
sweet  affection,  which  bound  you,  parents,  you,  brothers  and 
sisters,  to  your  departed  one.  For  you,  too,  has  come  the  time 
of  which  our  text  speaks:  the  evil  days,  the  years  "when  thou 
shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them."  For  you  the  sun,  the 
light  of  the  moon  and  the  stars  seem  darkened.  "Man  goeth  to 
his  long  home  and  the  mourners  go  about  the  streets."  But  mourn 
not  as  those  who  have  no  hope.  Courage,  Christians!  Death  has 
not  broken  the  silver  cord  forever.  It  is  but  loosed,  loosed  long 
enough  to  let  this  dear  one  rise  up  and  slip  quietly  out  of  the 
family  circle — for  a  little  while.  So  shall  you  all  pass  out,  one  by 
one.  But  what  was  bound  by  God  on  earth,  shall  be  bound  in 
heaven.  There  the  silver  cord  will  be  drawn  tight  again  and  hold 
this  family  circle  together,  hold  them,  without  parting,  forever 
and  forever. 

The  silver  cord  is  loosed,  that  silver  cord  which  bound  her, 
together  with  us,  in  the  bonds  of  the  Christian  church.  'Tis  the 
silver  cord  of  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ,  binding  us  together  in  the 
one  faith,  in  the  one  hope  of  eternal  life,  binding  us  all  together 
in  one  great  family  here  on  earth.  The  cord  is  loosed — ^not  broken 


THE    SILVER    CORD    AND    GOLDEN    BOWL  51 

— to  let  one  member  go  from  the  lower  part  of  the  encircling  bond 
to  the  upper.  For,  lo,  this  silver  cord  reaches  from  the  valley  of 
tears  into  the  heights  of  Paradise,  enclosing  in  its  silver  strands 
the  very  angels  of  God. 

^'The   saints   on   earth   and  those   above 
But  one  communion  make: 
Joined  to  their  Lord,  in  bonds  of  love, 
All  of  his  grace  partake. '' 

Again  and  again  the  cord  is  loosed  to  let  one  member  rise  up 
and  go  before.  But  there  in  heaven  the  blessed  bonds  shall  be 
drawn  tight  again.  There  the  silver  cord  of  the  love  of  the  Lamb 
shall  bind  us  and  unite  us  into  one  great  family  before  the  throne 
of  God,  bind  us  and  unite  us  forever  and  forever.  The  silver 
cord  is  loosed. 

II.  The  Golden  Bowl  is  Broken:  She  who  lies  before  us  was 
beautiful  like  a  golden  bowl.  Before  disease  and  death  ravaged 
this  body  it  was  particularly  fair,  and  graced  with  a  mind  and 
temperament  peculiarly  sweet  and  brave.  Yes,  as  we  knew  her 
in  the  days  gone  by,  she  was  lik-e  a  golden  bowl,  a  masterpiece 
of  the  Creator's  hand.  Alas,  it  is  broken.  As  it  lies  here  before 
us,  you  would  scarcely  know  it  for  the  golden  bowl  it  once  was, 
though  some  of  the  fairness  and  fineness  remains.  Oh,  how  death, 
dreadful  death,  had  to  hammer  it  with  his  hammers  of  pain  and 
disease,  how  long  he  had  to  beat  upon  it  till  it  broke,  how  long  it 
withstood  his  stoutest  blows.  At  last  it  gave  way.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  our  text,  the  evil  days  came,  when  ''the  keepers  of  the 
house  trembled,  .  .  .  men  bowed  themselves" — these  lithe 
limbs  gave  way;  when  "the  grinders  ceased" — these  small,  white 
teeth  refused  to  act:  "when  those  that  look  out  of  the  windows 
were  darkened" — these  bright  eyes  closed  in  death. 

The  golden  bowl  is  broken,  but  mark  well,  my  brethren,  the 
contents  of  the  bowl  are  not  poured  out.  The  contents  of  the 
bowl,  the  immortal  spirit,  God  has  preserved  in  his  heavenly 


52  FUNERALSERMONS 

kingdom.  In  the  moment  of  death  were  fulfilled  the  words  of 
our  text :  ' '  Then  shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was,  and 
the  spirit  shall  return  unto  the  God  who  gave  it." 

^'Eemember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth."  Our 
dear  sister  remembered  him,  who  created  not  only  her  body  but 
also  her  soul,  and  whose  will  it  was  that  this  soul  should  return 
unto  him.  She  remembered  her  Creator  in  the  days  of  her  youth, 
in  her  baptism,  in  her  confirmation,  in  her  daily  life,  in  the  serv- 
ices at  her  church.  But  especially  when  the  evil  days  came,  the 
days  of  sickness  and  weakness,  she  remembered  her  Creator  and 
Redeemer.  It  was  he  who  gave  her  strength  to  face  so  bravely, 
so  cheerfully,  so  patiently,  so  unflinchingly,  as  few  can,  that  dire 
disease,  that  dread  white  plague,  which  annually  slays  its  thou- 
sands and  ten  thousands.  It  was  his  comfort  that  sustained  her 
in  death's  darkness,  particularly  those  words  of  the  psalmist 
that  seem  to  apply  so  well  to  her  malady:  ''He  shall  deliver  thee 
from  the  noisome  pestilence.  Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the 
terror  by  night ;  nor  for  the  arrow  that  flieth  by  day ;  nor  for  the 
pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness ;  nor  for  the  destruction  that 
wasteth  at  noonday. ' '  All  the  time,  while  death  was  battering  the 
golden  bowl  of  her  life,  she  strove,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  give 
the  contents  of  the  bowl,  her  spirit,  unblemished  into  the  keeping 
of  her  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Though  now  the  golden  bowl  is  broken  and  the  fragments 
must  return  to  the  dust,  yet  out  of  that  dust,  on  that  great  day, 
God  will  fashion  a  vessel  far  finer  and  fairer,  a  body  glorious,  like 
unto  the  glorious  body  of  Christ.  In  heaven  this  new  and  golden 
bowl  will  contain  forever  the  sainted  spirit,  redeemed  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  ''Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with 
these  words." 

But  for  you,  too,  mourning  friends,  and  for  us  all,  dear  con- 
gregation, sooner  or  later,  the  silver  cord  of  life  shall  be  loosed, 
the  golden  bowl  of  the  body  shall  be  broken.  "Vanity  of  vanities, 


THE    SILVER    CORD    AND    GOLDEN    BOWL  53 

saith  the  preacher;  all  is  vanity."  The  vain  world  passeth  away. 
Soon  we  must  all  go  to  our  long  home.  When  that  time  comes, 
do  you  desire  that  this  cord  be  bound  again,  this  bowl  restored 
in  beauty?  If  so,  "remember  now  thy  Creator."  Now  is  the 
time.  Do  not  put  it  off  until  the  evil  days  come,  and  "the  years 
draw  nigh,  when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them." 
Do  not  wait  until  sun,  moon  and  stars  are  darkened,  until  "the 
keepers  of  the  house"  tremble  and  "the  strong  men  bow  them- 
selves," and  "the  grinders  cease,"  and  "those  that  look  out  of 
the  windows  be  darkened."  Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the 
whole  matter:  "fear  God  and  keep  his  commandments":  and 
this  is  his  greatest  commandment:  "That  ye  might  believe  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God ;  and  that  believing,  ye  might 
have  life  through  his  name." 

Then,  when  the  last  hour  comes,  we  can  face  it  as  bravely,  as 
did  this  patient  soul.  Then  we  shall  not  fear,  but  shall  go  rejoic- 
ing to  meet  our  dear  ones  on  the  other  side.  Though  death  and  all 
his  dreadful  following  of  sickness  and  disease  hem  us  in  on  every 
side,  we  look  up  to  the  Lord  of  Life  and  say  in  faith : 

"I  fear  no  foe,  with.  Thee  at  hand  to  bless: 
Ills  have  no  weight,  and  tears  no  bitterness. '' 

The  silver  cord  is  loosed,  the  golden  bowl  is  broken.  Lord,  do 
thou  bind  again  the  silver  cord !  Do  thou  restore  the  golden  bowl 
in  heavenly  beauty!    Amen. 


BE  THOU  FAITHFUL  UNTO  DEATH 
By  Rev.  Walter  E.  Tressel,  A.  M. 

**.    .    .    Be  thLOu  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of 
life."— Rev.  2:  10. 

Occasion :  For  a  comparatively  young  woman,  active  and  faithful 
in  Christ's  service.  The  text  was  her  coniarmation  verse. 

This  text  is  familiar  and  precious  to  everyone  who  has  been 
instructed  and  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran  Church.  The  earnest 
pastor  takes  frequent  occasion  to  impress  on  the  heart  of  his 
catechumens  the  admonition,  ''Be  thou  faithful."  These  words 
are  often  used  as  a  text  for  the  confirmation  sermon,  and  the  list 
of  memory  verses  employed  in  the  rite  of  confirmation  invariably 
includes  this  word  of  Scripture. 

The  appropriateness  of  this  passage  for  the  solemn  confirma- 
tion season  will  at  once  be  admitted  by  anyone  familiar  with  the 
Bible  and  in  sympathy  with  the  beautiful  customs  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  The  catechumens  are  assuming  obligations  of  more  than 
ordinary  importance.  To  themselves,  their  parents,  their  friends, 
this  is  an  impressive  moment,  one  they  will  never  forget. 

**Ye  men  and  angels,  witness  now, 
Before  the  Lord  we  speak; 
To  Him  we  make  our  solemn  vow, 
A  vow  we  may  not  break. 

^'That  long  as  life  itself  shall  last, 
Ourselves  to  Christ  we'll  yield; 
Nor  from  His  cause  will  we  depart, 
Or  ever  quit  the  field.'' 

The  custom  of  using  the  memory-verse,  spoken  by  the  pastor 
at  confirmation,  for  a  funeral  text,  obtains  in  some  places.   This 

54 


BE  THOU  FAITHFUL  UNTO  DEATH       55 

custom  cannot,  for  obvious  reasons,  be  followed  invariably.  But 
surely,  on  this  occasion,  when  we  preach  on  the  special  verse  used 
some  years  ago  at  the  confirmation  of  our  sister  in  Christ,  no  one 
will  question  the  appropriateness  and  rightfulness  of  the  choice. 

Be  Thou  Faithful  Unto  Death  / 

The  text  forms  part  of  a  letter  addressed  to  the  pastor  of  the 
church  in  Smyrna.  In  the  words,  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death," 
we  have 

An  Earnest  Admonition :  Smyrna  has  had  a  long  and  eventful 
history,  extending  back  hundreds  of  years  before  Christ.  It  has 
figured  in  many  wars  and  battles,  and  has  often  passed  from  one 
power  to  another;  but,  notwithstanding 'its  checkered  career,  it 
still  stands,  under  the  modern  name  of  Ismir,  a  Turkish  corrup- 
tion of  the  ancient  name ;  and,  with  its  population  of  250,000,  is 
noted  as  the  largest  city  in  Asia  Minor. 

We  are  told  that  in  Roman  times  Smyrna  was  the  "most  bril- 
liant city  of  Asia  Minor,  successfully  rivaling  Pergamos  and 
Ephesus. ' '  It  was  a  great  trading-center,  situated  as  it  was  in  an 
excellent  harbor,  and  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  main  highways 
leading  to  the  interior.  To  this  ' '  city  of  life, ' '  this  ' '  queenly  city 
crowned  with  her  diadem  of  towers,"  came  at  an  early  time  the 
greatest  opportunity  that  can  come  to  individual,  city,  or  nation. 
The  Spirit  of  God  came  there  in  the  Gospel.  What  a  day  must 
that  have  been  when  Smyrna  heard  for  the  first  time  about  "the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Christ"! 

The  letter  to  the  church  at  Smyrna  is  from  Jesus  Christ: 
"These  things  saith  the  first  and  the  last,  who  was  dead  (became 
dead),  and  lived  again"  (verse  8).  The  epistle  is  written,  not 
in  "cold  admiration"  but  in  "warm  affection."  The  church  has 
already  suffered  tribulation,  its  poverty  is  known,  the  presence 
of  a  bitter  enemy,  in  the  Jews  who  form  a  synagogue  of  Satan,  is 


56  rUNERAL     SERMONS 

recognized.  The  past  has  been  one  of  suffering  and  trial.  The 
immediate  future  offers  no  relief  from  persecution.  "Fear  none 
of  those  things  which  thou  art  about  to  suffer.  Behold,  the  devil 
is  about  to  cast  some  of  you  into  prison,  that  ye  may  be  tried; 
and  ye  shall  have  tribulation  ten  days."  With  these  things  in 
prospect,  how  suitable  the  word  of  earnest  adijionition :  "Be  thou 
faithful  unto  death." 

Some  of  you,  says  this  letter,  are  to  be  cast  into  prison.  You 
will  be  condemned.  You  will  suffer  for  your  faith's  sake.  Even 
death  will  be  the  sentence  imposed.  Be  faithful  to  the  point  of 
suffering  death.  Don't  surrender  your  faith  in  Jesus,  your  Sav- 
ior. When  the  fiery  hour  of  trial  comes,  think  of  him  who  endured 
such  contradiction  of  sinners  against  himself,  who  died  the  shame- 
ful death  of  the  cross  that  you  might  live  forever.  Be  faithful; 
persevere;  hold  out. 

With  these  things  in  mind,  what  importance  and  solemnity 
should  attach  to  our  text  when  we  use  it  at  our  confirmation 
services.  The  day  of  confirmation  was,  for  our  deceased  sister, 
one  of  the  great  days  of  her  life.  When  she  promised  to  renounce 
the  devil  and  all  his  works  and  ways;  the  world  with  all  its 
pomp ;  the  flesh  with  all  its  evil  desires — she  meant  what  she  said. 
She  took  no  idle  vows,  no  empty  words  upon  her  lips.  When 
she  confessed  her  faith  in  the  Father,  who  loved  her  and  made 
her;  in  the  Son,  who  loved  her  and  redeemed  her;  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  who  loved  her  and  was  day  by  day  sanctifying  her — she 
understood  what  she  was  confessing  and  with  confidence  and  joy 
gave  utterance  to  her  faith.  When  she  promised  to  continue 
steadfast  in  the  faith  she  had  confessed  and  to  serve  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  by  a  godly  life,  even  unto  the  end,  she  realized  what 
she  was  doing,  and  gave  the  promise  with  her  whole  heart.  And 
when  her  head  was  bowed  and  her  hands  devoutly  folded  during 
the  act  of  confirmation,  she  received  this  word  of  earnest  admoni- 
tion: "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death." 


BE  THOU  FAITHFUL  UNTO  DEATH       57 

Our  sister  did  not  receive  this  word  in  vain,  but  accepted  it 
as  it  was  in  truth,  a  message  from  God  to  her  soul.  She  did  what 
she  could.  Humble  duties  were  faithfully  done.  Larger  tasks  were 
performed  with  equal  fidelity.  She  was  conscientious.  Never 
boasting,  either  before  God  or  men,  she  modestly  went  her  way. 
She  confessed,  ''Lord,  have  mercy  on  me."  In  this  contrite,  be- 
lieving spirit  she  discharged  her  duty.  Whether  in  the  home  or  at 
her  daily  work,  whether  in  the  Sunday-school  or  in  tjie  Luther 
League,  she  had  but  one  thought:  to  be  faithful. 

"Unto  death."  Even  today  it  costs  something  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian. Yea,  to  be  a  genuine  confessor  and  follower  of  Christ,  means 
persecution.  It  does  not  mean  literal  death,  perhaps;  but  often 
the  trial  is  almost  as  severe.  The  deceased  was  a  popular  young 
woman.  Her  beautiful  face,  lit  with  the  joy  and  peace  of  heaven; 
her  happy  disposition  and  gracious  manners,  won  her  many 
friends.  But  when  these  friends  sought  to  take  her  away  for  a 
Sunday's  outing,  she  told  them  that  her  place  was  at  Sunday- 
school  and  church.  "When  other  interests  and  arrangements  would 
interfere  with  her  attendance  at  Luther  League  meetings,  she  re- 
fused to  be  turned  aside  from  the  path  of  duty.  This  faithfulness 
cost  her  some  friends ;  it  even  exposed  her  to  criticism  and  ridicule 
in  some  quarters.  She  was  often  a  victim  of  modern  forms  of 
persecution.    But  she  proved  faithful. 

We  pray  that  this  spirit  may  be  more  general  amongst  us,  and 
that  our  young  people  may  not  be  seeking  "the  life  of  mere  ease 
or  mere  pleasure, ' '  but  may  know  and  experience  that  ' '  the  life 
of  duty"  makes  the  "great  man  as  it  makes  the  great  nation." 
Let  the  spirit  of  Polycarp,  the  venerable  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  be  in 
you,  my  dear  young  people.  Polycarp  refused  to  deny  his  Lord 
and  Saviour,  whom  for  six  and  eighty  years  he  had  served,  and 
from  whom  he  had  experienced  nothing  but  love  and  mercy.  He 
went  joyfully  up  to  the  stake,  relates  the  historian,  and  amidst 
the  flames  praised  God  for  having  deemed  him  worthy  "to  be 


58  FUNERALSERMONS 

numbered  among  his  martyrs,  to  drink  the  cup  of  Christ's  suf- 
ferings, unto  the  eternal  resurrection  of  the  soul  and  the  body  in 
the  incorruption  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 

The  other  portion  of  our  text  awaits  consideration:  "I  will 
give  thee  a  crown  of  life. ' ' 

A  Gracious  Reward  is  here  promised:  The  language  of  this 
letter  seems  to  have  been  chosen  with  special  reference  to  the 
situation  and  the  experiences  of  the  Smyrnaeans.  The  idea  of 
faithfulness  would  appeal  to  them,  since  they  prided  themselves 
in  their  fidelity  to  the  Roman  government.  Their  ' '  singular  fidel- 
ity" was  praised  by  a  Roman  historian.  Cicero  lauded  them  as 
''the  most  faithful  of  our  allies."  And  they  well  deserved  the 
encomiums  bestowed  on  them.  Smyrna  "had  established  its  his- 
toric claim  to  the  epithet  'faithful'  in  three  centuries  of  loyalty. 
The  city  had  been  faithful  to  Rome  in  danger  and  difficulty.  The 
citizens  had  stripped  off  their  own  garments  to  send  to  the  Roman 
soldiers  when  suffering  from  cold  and  the  hardships  of  a  winter 
campaign," 

Similarly,  the  reference  to  a  crown  would  at  once  be  recog- 
nized as  a  singularly  happy  thought.  "  'The  crown  of  Smyrna' 
was  a  familiar  phrase  with  the  Smyrn^ans."  Travelers  describe 
the  hill  Pagos,  at  whose  foot  and  on  the  lower  skirts  of  which 
rose  the  buildings  of  the  city.  On  the  rounded  top  of  this  hill, 
we  are  informed,  were  stately  public  buildings.  Standing  in 
conspicuous  place  and  orderly  array,  these  structures  formed 
a  crown  to  the  city.  But  the  inhabitants  of  Smyrna  were,  on  one 
occasion,  reminded  that  "it  is  a  greater  charm  to  wear  a  crown 
of  men  than  a  crown  of  porticoes."  And  so,  when  this  immortal 
epistle  was  addressed  to  them,  the  Smyrnaeans  were  reminded 
that  the  crown  of  everlasting  life  is  to  be  preferred  above  the 
crown  of  civic  charm  and  beauty. 

"A  crown" — symbol  of  victory.  Coronation  follows  conflict. 
To  obtain  this  crown  one  must  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith.   Sin, 


BE  THOU  FAITHFUL  UNTO  DEATH       59 

Satan  and  hell  are  the  foes  which  must  be  met.  From  the  cradle 
to  the  grave  they  beset  and  assail  us.  With  a  thousand  arts  and 
wiles,  with  threats,  with  every  conceivable  weapon  they  seek  our 
overthrow.  ''But  thanks  be  to  God.  which  giveth  us  the  victory 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. ' '  Through  the  power  of  him  that 
loved  us  we  come  off  more  than  conquerors.  The  crown  is  a  gift 
— a  pure  gift  of  grace.  We  have  not  merited  it.  ''Not  of  works, 
lest  any  man  should  boast."  When  we  were  yet  in  our  sins  God 
loved  us  and  planned  our  redemption.  Christ  fully  gave  himself 
a  ransom  for  many  and  himself  earned  our  release.  The  Holy 
Spirit  comes  to  us  with  the  offer  of  salvation,  bidding  us  buy 
without  money  and  without  price. 

**  Grace  first  contrived  the  way 
To    save   rebellious   man; 
And  all  the  steps  that  grace  display 
Which  drew  the  wondrous  plan. 

''Grace  all  the  work  shall  crown 
Through   everlasting  days; 
It  lays  in  heaven  the  topmost  stone 
And  well  deserves  the  praise.'' 

"A  crown  of  life" — wonderful  gift!  Not  money!  Not  fame! 
Not  honors!  Not  lands!  But  life!  Glorious  life!  Eternal  life! 
Life  in  fellowship  with  God,  with  angels,  with  saints!  Life  free 
from  every  sin  and  blemish,  from  every  taint  and  imperfection! 
Life  in  holiness  and  purity  before  God  forever!  Kings  cannot 
give  it,  nor  can  they  take  it  away.  It  cannot  be  bought  for  money, 
it  cannot  be  achieved  by  human  effort  or  merit.  It  is  the  free  gift 
of  a  loving  God.  St.  Paul  exults  in  the  prospect  of  this  reward  of 
grace.  He  calls  it  "a  crown  of  righteousness"  which  the  Lord 
will  give  him  in  "that  day,"  and  not  to  him  only,  but  to  all  them 
also  that  love  Christ's  appearing. 

Our  sister  wears  today  a  crown.  Here  is  a  crown  of  life. 
Parents  and  friends,  rejoice  in  this — your  loved  one  has  gained, 


60 


FUNERAL     SERMONS 


through  Christ,  a  great  victory.  By  the  grace  of  God  she  has 
conquered  selfishness,  false  ambitions,  the  allurements  of  the 
world  and  the  invitations  of  false  friends.  She  has  remained 
faithful  and  upon  her  brow  now  rests  a  crown  of  life.  See  to  it 
that  you  abide  faithful.  ''It  is  required  in  stewards  that  a  man 
be  found  faithful.  You  have  work  to  do.  God  calls  you.  He  bids 
you  labor  in  his  vineyard.  He  admonishes:  ''Be  thou  faithful." 
He  warns  you  of  danger,  temptation,  and  persecution — "unto 
death."  He  promises  the  victors  a  reward  whose  glory  is  inde- 
scribable— "a  crown  of  life." 

There's  a  crown  for  you,  for  me.  What  comfort!  "And  when 
the  chief  shepherd  shall  be  manifested,  ye  shall  receive  the  crown 
of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away"  (I  Peter  5:4). 

*'Must  Jesus  bear  the  cross  alone, 
And  all  the  world  go  free? 
No,  there's  a  cross  for  every  one, 
And  there's  a  cross  for  me. 

''The  consecrated  cross  I'll  bear 
Till  Christ  shall  set  me  free, 
And  then  go  home  my  crown  to  wear — 
For  there's  a  crown  for  me." 

Amen. 


Part  III 


INDEX— PART  III 


Text 

Eom.  8:  31,  32 
John  11:  25:  26 
IThess.4:  13-18 

Rom.  8:   38,  39 
II  Cor.  6:  9 

II  Kings  20:   1 
James  4:   13-15 

Rev.  7:  9-17 
Matt.  7:  21 
Psalm  16:    11 

Matt.  25:   21 

I  Thess.  4:  13 

Rom.  6:  25 
Psalm  119:   92 

II  Cor.  5:   1-9 
Acts  16:  30,  31 


I  Peter  1:  3-5 
John    13:    7 


Occasion 

For  a  husband  and  father 

For  a  brother 

For   a   theological   professor's 

wife    

For  a  middle-aged  Christian 

For  a  godly  woman  in  hmnble 

circumstances    

For  a  stranger 

Accidental    death    of    husband 

and   father    

For  a  good  church  member 

For  a  Christian  man 

For     a     middle-aged     church 

member    

For  a  middle-aged  pastor 

For  a  prominent  church  mem- 
ber     

For  a  faithful  church  member 

and  the  father  of  a  family. 

For      husband,      father      and 

brother  

For    a   middle-aged    consistent 

Christian  man 

For  a  worldly-minded  man 
who  repented  on  his  death- 
bed     

For  a  middle-aged  Christian 

For  a  suicide 


Author  Page 
Rev.  H.  P.  Dannecker  __  3 
R€v.  W.  E.  Tressel 11 

Rev.L.  H.  Schuh 18 

Rev.  J.  H.  Schneider  ___  23 

Rev.  Prof.  C.  B.  Gohdes-  33 
Rev.  W.  E.  Schramm 41 

Rev.  S.  P.  Long 46 

Rev.  G.  J.  Troutman 51 

Rev.  G.  J.  Troutman 57 

'Rev.  M.  R.  Walter 64 

Rev.L.  H.  Schuh 70 

R«v.  Prof.  D.  H.  Bauslin  78 

R«v.  J.  W.  Schillinger___  95 

Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 102 

Rev.  F.  B.  Clausen 109 


Rev.  L.  H.  Schuh 115 

Rev.  Prof.  G.  Rygh 122 

Rev.  G.  J.  Troutman 128 


THE   COMFORT  OF   CHRISTIAN  MOURNERS  IN  THE 
HOUR  OF  AFFLICTION 

By  Rev.  H.  P.  Dannecker 

"What  shall  we  then  say  to  these  things?  If  God  "be  for  us,  who  can 
he  against  us?  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  hut  delivered  him  up  for 
us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things?*' — ^Rom. 
8:  31,  32. 

Occasion:  For  the  Funeral  of  a  Husband  and  Father 

Dear  Mourning  Friends:  The  great  affliction  which  has  be- 
fallen you  has  caused  us  to  assemble  in  the  house  of  God  at  this 
unusual  hour.  The  cause  of  your  afflictions  and  present  grief  is 
not  hard  to  find.  It  lies  before  us  in  that  somber  casket,  which 
contains  the  remains  of  a  loving  husband  and  father.  He  was 
taken  from  you  when  his  soul  took  its  sudden  flight  on  Monday 
morning,  and  now  you  are  on  your  way  to  give  up  the  body  also 
by  laying  it  away  in  the  silent  grave.  And  we,  your  friends,  have 
come  with  you  to  mingle  our  tears  with  yours  and  to  offer  you 
what  consolation  we  can  give.  For  this  purpose  we  bid  the  de- 
parted one  our  last  farewell  at  his  grave.  God  grant  that  this 
sojourn  at  his  house  will  do  you  good. 

Look  about  you.  It  is  the  church,  your  heavenly  Father's 
house  on  earth,  the  place  where  he  has  promised  to  meet  you  and 
bless  you.  '*  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my 
name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them"  (Matt.  18:  20).  He  is 
here  now.  He  is  looking  down  upon  you.  He  sees  that  coffin.  He 
sees  your  tears.  He  knows  just  how  it  happened  and  how  you 
feel.  You  need  not  tell  him  anything.  Only  lean  your  weary 
heads  upon  his  loving  bosom  and  let  him  comfort  you. 

He  will  comfort  you.  He  will  comfort  you  as  a  mother  com- 
forteth  her  child.   He  will  comfort  you  with  the  sweet  sound  of 

3 


4  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

his  voice  in  his  holy  Word.  He  speaks  to  you  in  our  text:  ''What 
shall  we  then  say  to  these  things?  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be 
against  us?  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him 
up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  freely  give  us  all  things?" 
Oh,  let  the  blessed,  assuring  words  find  entrance  into  your  hearts. 
They  will  comfort  you.  They  will  give  you  strength  to  bear  up 
under  this  heavy  blow,  this  trying  affliction.  I  know  that  they 
will  do  you  good  if  you  will  only  listen  to  the  sweet  voice  of  your 
heavenly  Father  that  speaks  through  them.  Let  me  help  you  to 
catch  the  sweet  sound  and  grasp  the  comforting  assurance  that 
is  in  them  by  pointing  out  to  you: 

The  Comfort  of  Christian  Mourners  in  the  Hour  of  Affliction 

Let  me  show  you: 

1.  Its  necessity. 

2.  Its  nature. 

3.  Its  ground. 

1.  Mourners,  and  even  Christian  mourners,  have  great  need  of 
comfort.  Because  we  are  God's  children  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
does  not  exempt  us  Christians  from  the  sickness  and  sorrow  and 
pain  and  death  that  fall  to  the  lot  of  every  mortal  being  in  this 
sinful  world.  These  things  come  from  sin,  and  *'as  by  one  man 
sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin ;  and  so  death  passed 
upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned"  (Rom.  5:  12).  But  what 
then  is  the  advantage  of  being  a  Christian?  There  is  a  great 
advantage.  While  we  Christians  must  suffer  pain  and  sickness 
and  death  in  this  evil  world  just  like  the  ungodly,  we  know  ''that 
the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared 
with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us"  (Rom.  8:  18).  We 
Christians  have  a  comfort  and  consolation  when  these  things 
befall  us,   while   the  ungodly  have   no   comfort.    The   ungodly 


THE  COMFORT  OF  CHRISTIAN  MOURNERS    5 

suffer  more  under  the  trying  afflictions  of  this  present  life  than 
we  Christians  do,  because  they  have  no  hope,  no  peace  with  God, 
no  assurance  that  all  things  work  together  for  their  good.  To 
them  death,  the  culmination  of  all  human  ills,  is  nothing  but 
sorrow,  an  irreparable  loss,  a  mysterious  horror,  with  no  redeem- 
ing feature  whatever,  with  no  use,  no  advantage  and  no  gain. 
"What  shall  we  say  to  these  things?"  to  them  is  a  question  that 
admits  of  no  cheerful,  hope-inspiring  answer.  What  shall  we  say 
to  these  things?  "Why  nothing,"  say  the  ungodly,  "we  can  say 
nothing;  all  that  we  can  do,  is  to  suffer  them  as  best  we  can; 
they  simply  cannot  be  helped."  What  would  an  unbeliever  say 
to  this  present  calamity  which  has  befallen  these  our  friends? 
What  could  he  say,  except  that  it  could  not  be  helped,  that  they 
must  bear  it,  and  not  take  it  so  hard,  but  think  that  it  is  our 
common  lot  and  forget  it  as  soon  as  they  can.  This  is  all  that  he 
could  say  honestly.  But  what  kind  of  comfort  would  that  be? 
You  have  lost  a  dear  father  and  your  mother  is  lying  sick  at  home, 
and  your  hearts  are  sore  and  your  tears  are  falling  fast.  Forget 
it !  Simply  think  that  it  had  to  be !  Oh,  what  miserable  comfort  is 
this  stoical  indifference,  this  blind  fatalism  of  the  world.  If  I  had 
no  better  consolation  than  that  to  offer,  I  would  keep  still  at  least, 
and  not  insult  such  poor,  afflicted  hearts,  the  widow  and  the 
orphans,  by  adding  to  their  cup  of  sorrow  the  bitter  poison  of 
despair.  Oh,  there  is  an  advantage  in  being  a  Christian,  a  child 
of  God,  a  believer  in  Christ  and  his  Word,  in  the  hour  of  such 
affliction.  A  Christian  can  give  and  receive  comfort,  the  very  best 
of  comfort,  comfort  that  will  bind  up  the  poor,  wounded  heart, 
that  will  take  the  poison  out  of  the  wound  and  assuage  its  great- 
est pain  and  make  the  affliction  at  least  bearable.  Aye,  a  Christian 
can  give  and  receive  such  comfort  that  will  cheer  and  gladden  the 
heart  in  the  midst  of  its  great  sorrow.  This  certainly  makes  it  an 
advantage  to  be  a  Christian,  and  I  am  glad  that  we  have  that 
advantage. 


6  FUNEBAL    SEBMONS 

But  we  Christians  have  no  advantage  over  the  godless  in  being 
exempt  from  such  afflictions.  *'Ye  shall  weep  and  lament,'*  said 
Christ  to  his  disciples  (John  16:  20).  Temporal  prosperity  is  no 
criterion  by  which  God's  children  may  be  recognized.  The  best  of 
them,  like  Daniel  and  Job  and  poor  Lazarus  and  the  Apostles  and 
martyrs,  endured  the  greatest  hardships  and  sufferings  of  this 
present  life.  God's  children  are  subject  to  sickness  and  death  and 
have  need  of  comfort.  We,  also,  my  Christian  brethren,  must 
suffer  and  die;  we,  also,  must  mourn  and  weep  like  our  friends 
who  mourn  and  weep  today,  and  that  makes  it  necessary  that  we 
should  be  comforted.  Our  hearts  sometimes  cry  out  in  sorrow  and 
pain:  ''What  shall  we  say  to  these  things?"  and  we  want  an 
answer,  a  good,  comforting,  reliable  answer. 

2.  And  Christian  mourners  shall  have  that  answer.  They  shall 
not  cry  out  in  vain.  They  shall  not  struggle  on  through  the  deep 
sea  of  trouble  without  a  chart  and  compass,  without  knowing 
whither  they  are  drifting.  They  shall  not  stand  in  stupid,  speech- 
less sorrow  before  such  an  affliction  like  this,  and  not  know  why  it 
was  done  and  whether  it  bodes  them  good  or  evil.  They  shall  be  told. 
They  shall  be  assured  that  all  is  well,  that  God  watches  over  them  and 
their  dead  and  will  turn  all  this  sorrow,  all  this  black,  distressing 
darkness  into  sunshine  and  joy.  They  shall  know  and  be  assured  that 
their  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord  are  not  dead,  but  sleep  for  a  brief 
space  only  to  rise  again  in  glory  and  perfect  health.  They  shall 
be  assured  that  their  own  death  will  be  an  inestimable  gain,  the 
happy  exchange  of  a  vale  of  tears  for  a  pure  and  blessed  home  in 
heaven.  ''If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us?"  This  is  the 
Christian's  triumph  over  all  evil,  over  all  sorrow  and  death.  God 
is  for  us. 

He  loves  us.  We  need  not  fear  his  wrath  on  account  of  our 
sins,  for  he  has  forgiven  them.  We  need  not  fear  that  everlasting 
debtor's  prison,  the  infernal  pit,  because  he  has  wiped  out  the 
debt.   The  fear  that  "we  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment- 


THE    OOMrORT    OP    OHEISTIAN    MOURNERS        7 

seat  of  Christ ;  that  every  one  may  receive  the  things  done  in  this 
body,  according  to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad" 
(II  Cor.  5 :  10),  does  not  disturb  the  peace  of  our  dying  hour,  even 
though  we  know  that  ''there  is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth,  that 
doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not ' '  (Eccles.  7 :  20) .  But  we  are  not  afraid 
of  the  judgment  to  come,  not  of  the  sentence  of  condemnation 
which  we  have  deserved  because  he  who  sits  upon  the  judgment- 
seat  has  forgiven  all  our  sins,  and  is  no  longer  against  us,  but  for 
us ;  and  if  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?  Oh,  how  sweet 
the  knowledge,  the  assurance  that  God  is  for  us,  and  will  be- 
friend, yea,  justify  us  in  the  dreadful  judgment  toward  which  all 
the  world  is  hastening.  This  assurance  is  the  very  best  cure  for  all 
our  fears  and  sorrows.  It  strikes  at  the  root  of  all  our  ills,  it 
removes  the  cause  of  our  greatest  trouble,  which  is  sin.  What  a 
glorious  thing,  what  a  sweet  comfort  it  is  for  us  Christians  to  be 
able  to  say :  God  is  for  us !  It  means  that  God  will  save  us  from 
everlasting  death. 

But  it  also  means  that  he  will  protect  us  in  this  present  life. 
He  is  our  dear  Father  in  heaven  who  takes  care  of  his  children  in 
time  and  in  eternity.  As  surely  as  you  are  Christians,  my  friends, 
you  know  that  God  was  with  your  father  on  that  fatal  Monday 
morning  when  he  fell  back  upon  his  pillow  with  a  single  gasp 
and  was  dead.  You  know  that  that  did  not  happen  without  the 
will  and  consent  of  your  and  his  heavenly  Father.  You  know  that 
God  is  with  your  mother  at  home,  and  that  not  a  hair  shall  fall 
from  her  beloved  head  without  the  will  of  your  Father  in  heaven. 
You  know  that  God  is  with  you  now,  that  he  will  go  with  you  to 
the  grave  which  is  awaiting  the  remains  of  your  lamented  father, 
that  he  will  support  you  and  give  you  strength  to  perform  this 
sad  duty,  not  as  such  who  mourn  without  hope,  but  as  firm  believ- 
ers in  the  divine  promise  of  a  glorious  resurrection.  You  know 
that  if  you  let  him,  he  will  turn  this  very  affliction  into  a  blessing 
by  drawing  you  more  closely  to  himself  and  his  holy  Word.  He 


g  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

will  strengthen  your  faith  and  give  you  courage,  patience  and 
hope  to  bear  this  trial  and  every  burden  that  may  yet  be  laid  upon 
your  shoulders.  As  gold  is  purified  in  the  fire,  so  will  he  use  these 
sorrows  and  afflictions  to  remove  from  your  hearts  the  natural 
love  for  the  things  of  this  world  and  to  move  you  to  set  your 
affections  upon  the  things  that  are  eternal.  ''For  our  light  afflic- 
tion, which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory,  while  we  look  not  at  the 
things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen;  for 
the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal ;  but  the  things  which  are 
not  seen  are  eternal"  (II  Cor.  4:  17,  18).  Have  you  ever  read  that 
sweet,  comforting  promise:  ''All  things  work  together  for  good 
to  them  that  love  God"  (Rom.  8 :  28)  ?  It  means  that  God  watches 
over  his  children  and  will  turn  their  losses  into  glorious  gains, 
their  weeping  into  jubilant  songs,  their  fears  into  shouts  of  tri- 
umph. This  is  the  sweet  comfort  of  every  mourning  Christian. 
He  is  assured  of  the  love  and  protection  of  his  God.  He  knows 
that  God  is  for  him,  and  if  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ? 
3.  This  comfort  is  sure  and  reliable.  The  Christian's  belief 
that  God  is  for  him,  and  that  nothing,  therefore,  can  harm  him,  is 
not  a  dream,  a  delusion.  It  is  a  trust,  a  hope  that  is  built  on  good, 
solid  ground.  It  is  based  on  the  rock  of  God's  Word.  That  is  a 
good  foundation.  "The  Word  of  the  Lord  is  right  and  all  his 
works  are  done  in  truth"  (Ps.  33 :  4).  Believe  what  the  Scriptures 
say  and  your  faith  will  stand.  And  what  do  the  Scriptures  say  to 
Christian  mourners?  Listen!  "What  shall  we  then  say  to  these 
things  ?  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?  He  that  spared 
not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not 
with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things?"  That  is  Scripture.  That 
is  God's  Word.  And  what  does  it  say?  It  says  that  with  Christ, 
that  is,  to  those  who  have  Christ  by  faith,  to  us  Christians,  God 
will  give  all  things  freely.  Mark  that  word  "freely."  It  means 
without  cost,  impartially,  abundantly,  in  good  season.  And  mark 


THE  COMFORT  OF  CHRISTIAN  MOURNERS    9 

the  expression  ''all  things."  It  includes  the  best,  the  most  need- 
ful, the  most  precious,  bodily  and  spiritual,  temporal  and  eternal 
blessings.  God  will  ''freely  give  us  all  things. "  What  a  promise  ! 
What  a  rock  to  base  our  trust  on!  Surely,  God  is  for  us,  and  you 
may  well  commit  your  present  sorrow  to  him  and  patiently,  trust- 
ingly wait  for  his  deliverance. 

But  we  have  another  reason  for  believing  that  God  is  for  us. 
"He  spared  not  his  own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all." 
It  is  God's  Son  who  makes  our  faith  good.  He  is  our  Savior,  whom 
God  delivered  up  for  us  all,  that  by  his  innocent  suffering  and 
death  he  might  purchase  for  us  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  "It  is 
Christ  that  died,  yea,  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who  is  even  at 
the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession  for  us" 
(Rom.  8:  34).  For  Christ's  sake  God  is  for  us.  For  Christ's  sake 
he  forgives  all  our  iniquities,  heals  all  our  diseases,  redeems  our 
life  from  destruction  and  crowns  us  with  lovingkindness  and 
tender  mercies.  Oh,  if  we  only  have  Christ,  if  we  only  cling  to 
him  with  believing  hearts,  God  is  for  us  and  will  freely  give  us  all 
things.  Put  your  trust  in  him,  dear  friends,  and  you  will  not  be 
disappointed,  for  your  faith  will  be  grounded  on  a  rock. 

But  Christ  is  also  an  earnest,  a  pledge  of  God's  good  and 
gracious  will.  How  can  we  doubt  that  he  who  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  should  not  with  him  also 
freely  give  us  all  things?  What  are  all  the  other  things  that  we 
may  need  in  time  and  in  eternity  when  compared  to  that  greatest 
gift  of  divine  love,  God's  own  beloved  son?  Can  you  not  trust  in 
the  good  will,  the  love  and  grace  of  him  who  sacrificed  his  own 
dear  child  to  save  your  soul?  Oh,  how  can  we  yet  doubt  that  he 
who  gave  us  his  Son  for  a  Savior  is  our  Friend  and  everlasting 
Protector?  It  will  not  be  near  as  hard  for  God  to  raise  up  your 
father  again,  to  restore  your  mother  to  health  and  to  keep  you 
from  harm  as  it  was  to  give  up  his  dear  Son  to  be  hung  upon  the 
accursed  tree. 


iQ  FtTNEBAL    SERMONS 

Go  then  in  peace,  dear  Friends,  and  perform  the  last  sad  rites 
for  your  dead.  Commit  his  body  to  the  ground  and  then  go 
bravely  forward  to  face  whatever  the  future  may  have  in  store  for 
you.  God  is  for  you:  who  can  be  against  you?  With  him  for  a 
Friend,  what  need  we  fear? 

'*I  fear  no  foe,  with  Thee  at  hand  to  bless: 
Ills  have  no  weight,  and  tears  no  bitterness. 
Where  is  death's  sting!    where,  grave,  thy  victory? 
I  triumph  still,  if  Thou  abide  with  me. ' ' 

Amen. 


I  AM  THE  RESURRECTION  AND  THE  LIFE 
By  Rev.  Walter  E.  Tressel,  A.  M. 

"Jesus  said  unto  her,  I  am  tlie  resurrection  and  tlie  life:  he  that 
helieveth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live.  And  whosoever 
liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die.  Believest  thou  this?" — John 
11:  25,  26. 

Occasion:  For  a  brother,  the  last  but  one — she  a  sister  and  con- 
stant companion — of  a  singularly  refined  and  devout  family. 
Brother  and  sister  had  been  close  and  congenial 
companions  for  many  years 

''I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life" — one  of  the  most  won- 
derful utterances  the  world  has  heard!  These  are  words  of 
overwhelming  grandeur  and  majesty — words  ''that  have  pealed 
through  the  ages."  Other  sentences,  striking  and  impressive, 
have  fallen  from  the  same  lips,  proclaiming  the  mighty  prophet 
who  spake  as  never  man  before  or  since  has  spoken.  We  are 
overawed  by  such  declarations  as  these:  ''I  am  the  light  of  the 
world :  he  that  f olloweth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall 
have  the  light  of  life"  (John  8:  12).  ''I  am  the  door:  by  me  if 
any  man  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved"  (John  10:  9).  ''I  am  the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life :  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but 
by  me"  (John  14:  6).  ''I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches.  He 
that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much 
fruit:  for  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing"  (John  15:  5).  All 
these  sublime  utterances  are  made  without  a  trace  of  assumption 
or  hauteur :  they  come  with  perfect  naturalness  from  the  lips  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

There  was,  in  the  little  town  of  Bethany,  a  small  family  circle 
of  brother  and  two  sisters:  Lazarus,  Mary  and  Martha.    Jesus 

11 


12  FUNERALSERMONS 

loved  this  family  and  found  comfort  in  their  midst.  He  seems 
to  have  visited  often  at  their  home.  Now  Lazarus  felt  sick  and 
died.  When  Jesus,  to  whom  the  sisters  had  sent  word  of  their 
brother's  illness,  came  to  Bethany,  Lazarus  had  been  in  the  grave 
four  days.  Martha,  on  learning  that  Jesus  was  coming,  went  out 
to  meet  him.  ''Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had 
not  died,"  she  said  to  Jesus.  ''Thy  brother  shall  rise  again," 
Jesus  said  to  her.  Martha  replied:  "I  know  that  he  shall  rise 
again  in  the  resurrection  at  the  last  day."  Then  said  Jesus  the 
words  that  will  never  be  forgotten ;  the  centuries  cannot  obscure 
them ;  the  tumults  of  the  nations  cannot  silence  them : 

"I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life" 

Words  sublime!  What  do  they  tell  us  about  Jesus  Christ? 
They  tell  us  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life. 
Lazarus  was  dead.  Martha  had  heard,  "Thy  brother  shall  live 
again."  Doubtless  well  instructed  in  the  teachings  of  the  Old 
Testament,  she  had  assented  to  what  seemed  to  her  to  be  in  Jesus' 
mind.  "I  know  that  he  shall  rise  again  in  the  resurrection  at 
the  last  day."  "I  am  the  resurrection,"  came  the  startling  and 
withal  thrilling  words  from  Jesus'  lips.  Martha  was  thinking  of 
the  future.    Christ  was  speaking  of  the  present. 

"The  resurrection."  We  are  witnesses  daily  of  death  and  its 
consequences — the  burial  and  the  decay  of  the  body.  Myriads  of 
graves  are  around  us.  The  tombstones  stand  mute  witnesses  of 
death — sentinels  over  the  dead.  But  Jesus  said:  "Thy  brother 
shall  rise  again."  He  declared:  "I  am  the  resurrrection. "  Ere 
long  his  body  was  to  be  shaken  by  the  tremors  of  death.  His  body 
would  be  prepared  for  burial,  and  would  be  laid  in  the  tomb. 
He  knew  what  was  to  befall  him,  and  notwithstanding  pro- 
claimed :  "I  am  the  resurrection."  He  who  had  power  to  lay  down 
his  life,  also  had  power  to  take  it  again.   "The  third  day  he  shall 


I   AM    THE    RESURRECTION    AND    THE    LIFE        13 

By  his  own  power  would  he  come  out  of  the  tomb 
on  the  glad  Easter  morn.  And  as  he  would  come  forth  from  the 
tomb,  so  had  he  the  power  to  bring  others  out  of  the  tomb.  Death 
and  decay  must  yield  before  his  matchless  power.  And  at  any 
time  he  might  decree.  At  this  moment,  if  necessary  for  the  glory 
of  God:  ''I  am  the  resurrrection. " 

''The  life."  0  blessed  messenger!  He  came  to  heal  a  sick 
world.  He  came  to  lighten  a  dark  world.  He  came  to  quicken  a 
dead  world.  He  came  to  save  a  lost  world.  He  himself  was,  and 
is,  life.  Life  in  its  absolute  sense,  life  apart  from  us  and  from  the 
world,  life  independent  of  parent  and  cause,  of  food  and  drink. 
Life  in  its  most  perfect  physical  expression,  life  in  its  highest 
intellectual  experience,  life  in  its  noblest,  yea,  infinite  spiritual 
being.  As  he  had  life  in  himself,  so  he  could  and  did  give  life  to 
others.  He  came  that  men  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might 
have  it  more  abundantly.  He  declared  himself  able  to  bestow  that 
life  at  any  time — now,  this  moment,  if  need  be.   "I  am  the  life." 

On  this  bright,  beautiful  spring  day,  and  in  this  saddened 
home,  from  which  has  been  taken  the  last  but  one,  Jesus  is  saying 
as  certainly  as  he  said  to  Martha:  ''I  am  the  resurrection  and  the 
life."  Today,  as  then,  he  is  thinking  of  the  brother  who  has  been 
called  away.  Today,  as  then,  he  is  speaking  to  a  sister:  "I  am 
— the  resurrection — and  the  life." 

Comforting  words!  They  were  not  uttered  for  the  mere  per- 
sonal satisfaction  of  the  speaker.  They  were  not  a  piece  of  boast- 
ing. They  were  meant  to  do  good,  to  convey  peace  and  comfort. 
''He  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live: 
and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die."  Mar- 
tha was  to  be  helped  and  comforted.  She  was  in  sore  distress 
over  her  brother  Lazarus'  decease.  Christ,  at  this  juncture,  gave 
assurance  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him,  though  he  had  died, 
should  live,  yes,  should  live  forever — in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
only  life  worth  naming,  life  in  everlasting  fellowship  with  God. 


14  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

The  condition  of  enjoying  such  a  life  was  named.  ''He  that 
believeth  in  me."  Jesus  was  demanding  much.  He  wanted  men's 
confidence.  It  wasn't  confidence  in  his  ability  to  engage  in  busi- 
ness honorably  and  profitably ;  it  wasn  't  confidence  in  his  power 
to  depose  the  contemporaneous  kings  and  emperors  and  set  him- 
self up  in  their  stead.  He  asked  for  confidence  in  himself — abso- 
lute, complete  surrender  of  the  heart  to  himself.  He  had  come  to 
give  men  light  and  life.  He  had  appeared  for  the  purpose  of  sav- 
ing men  from  darkness  and  death.  It  was  his  aim  to  save  men 
from  their  sins.  Men  were  to  believe  in  and  acknowledge  him  as 
Savior.  They  were  invited  to  have  faith  in  him,  to  entrust  the 
matter  of  their  salvation  into  his  hands.  Men  were  not  to  trust 
in  themselves  for  their  salvation;  they  were  not  to  rely  on  nor 
boast  of  their  own  works;  attendance  upon  the  synagogue  serv- 
ices and  membership  in  some  synagogue  congregation  were  not 
to  be  offered  in  satisfaction  of  sin.  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  and  is 
light  and  life  and  truth,  came  to  offer  himself  a  sacrifice  for  the 
sins  of  the  world.  He  was  and  is  the  Son  of  God.  Without  blas- 
phemy and  without  the  slightest  presumption  he  could  claim  to  be 
the  resurrection  and  the  life.  And  he  made  most  precious  prom- 
ises to  men — on  condition  that  they  believe. 

The  promises?  Life,  life  forever,  life  with  him  who  was  the 
perfect,  transcendent,  absolute  life.  The  grave  is  not  our  goal. 
"We  were  not  made  for  death.  God  meant  that  we  should  live,  live 
forever.  A  most  convincing  argument  is  offered  in  the  sequel  of 
our  text.  ''I  go,"  Jesus  had  said  to  his  disciples,  ''that  I  may 
awake  him  out  of  sleep"  (verse  11).  "Thy  brother  shall  rise 
again"  was  the  promise  to  Martha  (verse  23).  How  literally  that 
promise  was  fulfilled!  "Where  have  ye  laid  him?"  "Come  and 
see."  "He  hath  been  dead  four  days."  "Said  I  not  unto  thee, 
that,  if  thou  wouldest  believe,  thou  shouldest  see  the  glory  of 
God?"  "They  took  away  the  stone."  "Jesus  lifted  up  his  eyes," 
and  had  communion  with  his  Father.  And  then — he  cried  with  a 


I   AM   THE   RESURRECTION   AND    THE   LIFE        I5 

loud  voice,  ''Lazarus,  come  forth."  "And  he  that  was  dead  came 
forth."  Oh,  what  comfort!  He  that  was  dead  is  alive  again.  He 
is  restored  to  his  sisters.  Precious  promise — though  he  were 
dead,  yet  shall  he  live — shall  never  die.  And  all  because  Christ 
spake  truly:  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life." 

Dear  sister,  you  and  your  brother  were  congenial  companions. 
From  childhood  on  you  had  enjoyed  each  other's  company.  You 
both  delighted  in  intellectual  pursuits,  you  both  loved  art  and 
music.  You  were  one  in  your  spiritual  aspirations,  attending 
the  same  Sunday-school,  worshiping  together  in  the  same  church, 
communing  together  at  the  same  altar.  Ideal  and  happy  was 
your  life  in  the  home  which  you  both  loved  and  enjoyed  so 
much.  And  now  your  dear  brother  has  gone.  No  one  but 
yourself  can  fully  realize  what  that  means.  But  listen!  The 
promises!  "Thy  brother  shall  rise  again."  "He  that  believeth — 
shall  live — shall  never  die."  It  might  be — it  certainly  could  be — 
at  this  very  moment.  But  we  have  no  assurance  that  this  will 
come  to  pass  either  today  or  tomorrow :  but  it  will  be  some  day, 
some  sweet  day,  some  rarely  fair  day,  bye  and  bye.  But  again :  it 
is  today,  in  some  sense.  Jesus  lives.  He  was  dead,  but,  behold,  he 
is  alive  forevermore.  In  him  your  brother  lives  and  moves  and 
has  his  being  at  this  hour.  In  this  same  Jesus  you  have  your  being, 
your  all-in-all.  Through  the  agency  of  Jesus,  through  his  blessed  per- 
son, you  then  have  fellowship  with  the  brother  whom  you  no 
longer  have  with  you  in  the  flesh. 

However,  the  great  comfort  to  you  is  not  in  the  companionship 
and  fellowship  you  enjoyed  and  still  enjoy  with  your  brother,  but 
in  the  communion  you  have  with  Christ  through  faith — "he  that 
believeth  in  me."  Because  you  believe,  you  too  shall  live,  shall 
live  forever,  in  joy  and  glory. 

"Believest  thou  this?"  I  do  not  ask  because  I  have  any  doubt 
as  to  the  answer.  I  ask  to  draw  out  your  faith,  to  bring  forth  your 
confession.   Martha  answered  clearly  and  firmly:  "Yea,  Lord:  I 


IQ  rUNERALSERMONS 

believe  that  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  which  should 
come  into  the  world."  I  am  assured  that  this  is  your  confession. 
And  I  am  convinced  that  your  bereavement  will  bring  more 
definitely,  more  emphatically  before  your  mind,  this  question  so 
supremely  important.  At  the  same  time  you  will  weigh  carefully 
and  prayerfully  the  answer  here  given;  its  terms  will  become 
clearer  and  more  meaningful.  You  will  find  much  in  this  answer 
from  Martha 's  lips  to  engage  your  thought.  And  as  you  meditate, 
your  soul  will  grow  and  expand,  yours  will  be  a  richer  faith,  a 
more  abundant  experience.  Eemember,  too,  that  there  are  other 
brothers  and  sisters,  not  so  near,  indeed,  after  the  flesh,  as  was  he 
whom  you  mourn,  but  to  whom,  nevertheless,  you  will  be  called 
to  minister,  and  in  whose  presence  your  confession  of  the  Christ 
will  have  deep  meaning  and  great  influence. 

Friends,  you  have  heard  the  sublime  words  uttered  by  your 
Savior:  ''I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life."  "What  think  ye  of 
Christ?  What  think  ye  of  his  teaching?  Do  you  believe  all  this? 
Happy  are  ye,  indeed,  if  your  souls  are  at  rest  today  in  Jesus 
Christ.  Your  friend  and  neighbor  needs  you  now.  Your  expres- 
sions of  sympathy,  your  help  in  many  ways,  will  be  a  comfort  to 
her.  But  she  has  already  the  best  comfort  of  all — the  Prince  of 
Life,  the  Savior.  You  will  do  well  by  yourselves,  probably  it  will 
be  the  greatest  Godsend  to  her,  if  you  will  let  her  testify  to  you 
what  God  has  done  for  her  soul,  how  in  a  great  trial  of  affliction 
God  asserted  himself  very  emphatically,  yet  tenderly,  in  her  life, 
as  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  and  gave  her  promises  abundant 
and  exceeding  rich  and  comforting — promises  concerning  her 
brother,  concerning  herself,  promises  for  today  and  for  the  great 
hereafter. 

Brother,  farewell !  We  have  lived  many  years  together  in  our 
earthly  father's  house.  Here  are  the  rooms  where  the  loved  ones 
used  to  gather.  I  see  the  trees  under  whose  shade  we  sa^  Here 
are  the  well-remembered  books,  and  here  some  poem  we  loved  to 


I  AM   THE    RESURRECTION   AND    THE    LIFE        17 

read.  And  here — the  Book  of  books.  Let  me  reverently,  tenderly 
touch  it!  We  went  together  to  the  Heavenly  Father's  house. 
There  we  sang  the  songs  of  Zion,  there  we  heard  the  Word — so 
rich  in  truth  and  blessing,  there  we  communed  with  him  who  died 
for  us — and  who  rose  again.  Today  thou  art  in  thy  Father's  house 
above.  I  am  still  on  earth.  Some  day  I  will  meet  thee  there. 
Together  shall  we  and  our  loved  ones  be,  and  forever  with  the 
Lord.  Brother,  I  will  remember  that  Jesus  is  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Life.  In  him  shall  be  our  trysting  place,  and  in  him  shall 
both  our  lives  be  completed,  for — is  he  not  the  Resurrection  and 
the  Life?  And  shall  not  he  that  believeth  in  him  rise  again,  and 
live,  and  never  die?  Do  I  believe  this?  With  all  my  heart  I 
believe,  Lord,  that  "thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  which 
should  come  into  the  world."  Amen. 


WHAT  COMPORT  DO  THE  SCRIPTURES  GIVE  US 
CONCERNING  OUR  DEAD? 

By  Rev.  L.  H.  Schuh,  Ph.  D. 

"But  I  would  not  have  you  to  "be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  them 
which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even  as  others  which  have  no  hope. 
For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  which 
sleep  in  Jesus,  will  God  bring  with  him.  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  that  we  which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  shall  not  prevent  them  which  are  asleep.  For  the  Lord  himself 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout  with  the  voice  of  the  archangel, 
and  with  the  trump  of  God:  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first:  then 
we  which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together  with  them  in 
the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air:  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the 
Lord.  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these  words." — ^I  Thess.  4: 
13-18. 

Occasion:  For  a  Theological  Professor's  Wife 

The  Creator  has  given  us  affections  and  so  it  is  natural  to  love 
each  other.  We  are  happy  in  the  exercise  of  our  affections.  To  be 
surrounded  by  congenial  spirits,  by  wife  and  children,  to  love 
them  and  to  see  them  love  each  other  is  one  of  the  purest  forms 
of  human  enjoyment. 

But  who  will  describe  our  heartaches  when  these  bonds  of 
affection  are  violently  sundered  by  death?  Tears  flow  unbidden. 
They  are  our  only  natural  relief.  Whether  men  be  believers  or 
unbelievers,  they  feel  this  para;  yet  there  is  a  vast  difference  in 
their  mourning.  St.  Paul  is  not  a  stoic  who,  in  stolid  indiffer- 
ence, gives  up  his  weeping.  He  does  not  seek  to  resti^ain  us  from 
weeping.  He  knows  that  we  cannot  refrain  from  it  without  doing 
violence  to  our  nature.  But  he  asks  us  not  to  mourn  as  those  who 
have  no  hope.  When  the  worldling  stands  by  the  bier  he  is  com- 

18 


WHAT  COMPORT  DO  THE   SCRIPTURES  GIVE?  19 

fortless  and  his  mourning  borders  on  despair;  but  when  the 
Christian  stands  by  the  coffin  and  the  grave  he  has  hope  and  even 
amid  the  gathering  darkness  there  is  a  rift  in  the  clouds  and  a 
ray  of  light  from  a  better  world  cheers  him.  He  mourns  with 
hope. 

The  source  of  our  comfort  is  the  Bible.  It  was  given  that 
through  its  comforts  we  might  have  hope.  In  cases  of  affliction 
men  comfort  each  other;  but  human  comfort  is  vain.  The  only 
balm  for  the  wounded  heart  is  found  in  the  Word.  May  God  help 
us  to  apply  it  to  your  bleeding  hearts ! 

What  Comfort  Do  the  Scriptures  Give  Us  Concerning  Our  Dead? 

They  teach : 

I.  That  they  sleep  in  Jesus.  Text,  verses  13,  14. 

What  a  beautiful  figure  by  which  to  represent  death !  There  is 
something  dreadful  about  this  king  of  terrors  and  we  shrink 
away  from  his  chilly  touch  and  his  icy  embrace.  The  world  has 
invented  figures  by  which  to  represent  this  unwelcome  guest,  but 
after  all  there  is  a  tinge  of  sadness  and  of  incompleteness  about 
the  broken  wheel,  the  broken  pitcher,  the  sickle  and  the  sheaf. 
These  do  not  overcome  the  terrors  of  death.  How  much  more 
pleasing  is  the  figure  of  sleep.  We  do  not  dread  it ;  yea,  we  rather 
long  for  it.  When  we  are  wearied  by  the  heat  and  burden  of  the 
day,  we  look  forward  longingly  to  that  hour  when  we  can  recline 
on  the  couch  and  forget  all  our  cares  in  sleep. 

The  death  of  a  believer  alone  is  spoken  of  under  this  pleasing 
figure.  Christ  has  taken  away  the  sting  of  death  and  has  dis- 
armed it.  The  bee  robbed  of  its  sting  cannot  hurt,  the  serpent 
robbed  of  its  fang  cannot  bite.  While  the  believer  walks  in  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  it  cannot  harm  him.  Christ  has 
overcome  death  for  his  people  and  turned  it  into  sleep. 

Sleep  brings  rest  and  for  this  reason  death  is  so  called.  It 
brings  rest  from  all  the  cares  of  life.    What  a  burden  sin  has 


20  FUNERALSERMONS 

brought  upon  us.  Who  will  recount  all  the  hardships  that  are 
included  in  God's  curse  upon  the  first  transgression?  What  a 
daily  battle  for  bread  we  must  wage !  What  wrestlings  with  the 
ills  of  life  we  must  endure !  What  heart-aches,  what  pains,  what 
terrors  we  suffer!  No  language  can  express  them.  But  death 
brings  rest  from  them  all. 

It  brings  rest  from  our  spiritual  warfare.  As  soldiers  of  the 
cross  we  are  engaged  in  an  ardent  conflict.  The  kingdoms  of 
light  and  of  darkness  are  battling  for  the  mastery.  Earth  is  the 
battlefield.  We  are  enrolled  under  the  Captain  of  our  salvation, 
and  just  because  we  are  on  his  side  we  are  molested.  They  who 
have  been  serious  in  this  holy  cause  have  experienced  the  ills  of 
this  warfare.  But  they  end  when  death  comes  and  we  pass  from 
strife  to  victory. 

Death  brings  sweet  rest  with  Christ  in  heaven.  To  see  him  face 
to  face,  to  carry  the  victor's  palm,  to  be  clothed  in  garments 
washed  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  to  walk  on  the  golden 
streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  to  behold  the  eternal  city  whose 
light  is  God  himself,  to  join  with  angelic  choirs — this,  this  is  the 
rest  which  those  enjoy  who  sleep  with  Jesus. 

The  departed  was  a  follower  of  Christ  in  life  and  we  believe 
that  she  is  with  him  in  death.  Therefore  we  do  not  mourn  as  those 
who  have  no  hope. 

The  Scriptures  tell  us  concerning  our  dead : 

II.  That  they  will  arise.   Text,  verses  14-16. 

The  world  laughs  at  the  idea  of  a  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
"Death  ends  all,"  they  say,  ''or  if  it  does  not,  we  cannot  know 
anything  with  certainty  of  the  hereafter. ' '  They  appeal  to  human 
reason  and  ask  how  the  body  that  has  been  resolved  into  its 
original  elements  can  again  be  animated.  But  they  forget  that  he 
who  once  fashioned  the  body  from  the  dust  of  the  earth  and 
breathed  into  it  the  breath  of  life,  is  yet  almighty  and  that  he  can 
again  quicken  the  dust. 


WHAT  COMrORT  DO  THE   SCRIPTURES  GIVE?  21 

The  Apostle  does  not  suspend  our  faith  in  the  air,  but  places  it 
upon  an  immovable  rock,  viz.,  upon  the  resurrrection  of  Christ. 
Just  as  certainly  as  Jesus  arose,  so  surely  shall  our  dead  come 
forth.  Jesus  Christ  arose  from  the  dead  and  as  this  text  intimates 
by  his  own  power.  Even  his  enemies  admitted  that  his  grave  was 
empty.  He  himself  tells  us:  "I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life." 
If  he  is  the  life  essentially  and  in  his  divine  person  there  dwells 
almighty  power,  then  death  could  not  hold  him,  neither  will  it  be 
able  to  put  his  promise  to  shame:  "I  live  and  ye  shall  live  also." 
By  virtue  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  the  restoration  of  our  dead 
becomes  a  possibility.  He  became  ''the  first  fruits  of  them  that 
slept."  But  one  is  first  only  in  reference  to  others.  If  Jesus  was 
the  "first  fruits"  then  necessarily  others  must  follow. 

Jesus  who  is  enthroned  at  the  right  hand  of  God  will  descend 
with  the  voice  of  an  archangel  and  the  shout  of  trumpets.  It  will 
be  the  shout  of  victory  and  of  triumph.  The  last  enemy  will  hear 
and  will  release  his  grasp  upon  the  dead  and  they  will  arise.  The 
sleeping  army  will  gather  for  its  final  review  before  the  throne 
of  God. 

What  comfort  there  is  in  this  revelation  of  the  Word !  We 
love  the  forms  of  our  dead.  We  love  their  clay.  In  this  body  we 
have  learned  to  know  them ;  in  it  we  have  conversed  with  them ; 
by  it  we  have  recognized  them.  In  this  body  we  have  loved  and 
embraced  them  and  have  had  sweet  communion  and  fellowship 
with  them  and  in  this  body  glorified  we  are  once  more  to  possess 
them.  Let  those  who  choose  stand  by  the  grave  and  see  it  open  its 
maw  to  receive  their  dead  and  let  them,  if  they  can,  derive  com- 
fort from  the  thought  that  the  earthly  tabernacle  will  now  be 
dissolved  and  that  they  shall  no  more  look  upon  the  faces  and 
forms  once  so  dear  to  them;  but  to  us  the  thought  is  utterly 
heartless  and  comfortless  and  we  already  anticipate  that  joyful 
hour  in  which  all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  come  forth  and  we 
shall  ever  possess  our  dead.    This  is  the  only  thought  that  can 


22  FUNERAL     SERMONS 

satisfy  our  affections  and  stanch  our  bleeding  wounds. 

"We  believe  that  the  departed  will  arise  from  the  dead.  We 
mourn,  but  not  as  those  who  have  no  hope. 

The  Bible  tells  us  concerning  our  dead ; 

III.  That  they  will  be  reunited  with  us  eternally.  Text, 
verse  17. 

In  this  world  we  can  look  for  nothing  else  but  the  breaking 
up  of  our  families.  Sin  is  here,  consequently  death.  It  will  claim 
ours  as  its  prey.  And  if  it  be  not  that,  our  children  will  mature, 
they  will  leave  us  and  especially  in  this  restless  land  of  ours,  they 
will  settle  in  distant  parts.  The  family  circle  is  broken  and,  fight 
against  it  as  we  will,  we  are  helpless. 

But  we  are  comforted  that  '*so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the 
Lord."  Death  and  its  painful  separation  will  be  unknown  and 
the  reunion  of  our  families  will  be  eternal. 

Should  God  have  planted  in  our  hearts  these  affections  for 
each  other,  especially  for  our  own  blood  and  will  he  mock  us  by 
leaving  them  unsatisfied?  Should  he  who  has  placed  this  longing 
in  us  for  our  kin,  even  after  they  are  removed  from  time,  fail  to 
regard  his  own  work?  Nay!  "There  shall  be  no  more  death." 
This  is  his  promise.  He  is  truthful.  There  shall  be  no  more 
separation,  but  we  shall  ever  be  with  them. 

Rest,  Resurrrection  and  Reunion — these  are  the  comforts  of 
the  Scriptures  concerning  our  dead.  Discard  the  cold  comforts  of 
reason  and  ' '  comfort  one  another  with  these  words. ' ' 

May  God  heal  your  wounds !  Amen. 


THE  ABIDING  LOVE  OP  GOD  AS  THE  TRUE  SOURCE  OP 
COMFORT  IN  OUR  SORROWS 

By  Rev.  J.  H.  Schneider 

"For  I  am  persuaded,  that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  powers,  nor 
height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." — Rom.  8:  38,  39. 

Occasion:  For  a  Middle-aged  Christian 

All  that  this  earth  affords  is  changeable.  The  hardest  granite 
and  the  toughest  steel  waste  away  under  the  tooth  of  time.  Cities 
and  nations  spring  up  and  disappear,  yes,  earth  itself  is  change- 
able. How  about  mankind?  Are  men  stable?  By  no  means.  Their 
appearance,  their  condition,  their  disposition,  their  station  are  all 
subject  to  constant  changes.  The  fathers  and  mothers  of  our  day 
were  the  playful  children  of  yesterday.  The  rich  people  of  the 
present  were,  in  many  instances,  the  poor  people  of  the  past.  The 
friends  of  our  youth  are,  sometimes,  the  enemies  of  riper  years. 
Those  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  fame  a  few  years  ago  today 
occupy  a  forgotten  grave. 

Yes,  all  on  earth  is  changeable.  Not  even  the  deepest  and 
purest  love  of  a  wife  and  mother  is  lasting.  It  is  true,  that  as  long 
as  her  life's  blood  courses  through  her  heart,  love  remains  un- 
changed ;  but  the  day  comes  in  which  the  eyes  are  closed  and  the 
heart  stands  still,  and  then  also  a  wife's  and  mother's  love  has 
ceased. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  change,  is  there  nothing  at  all  which  is 
firm — nothing  at  all  which  we  can  hold? 

23 


24  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

Thanks  be  to  God,  there  is  something  immovable,  something 
unchangeable.  It  is  the  love  of  our  God. 

How  well  it  would  be  if  we  would  at  all  times,  but  especially 
in  times  of  sorrow,  think  of  the  changeless  love  of  God. 

You,  dear  family,  have  been  sorely  afflicted.  A  great  change 
has  taken  place  in  your  home.  The  eye  which  looked  for  your 
weal,  the  hands  which  labored  for  your  good,  the  lips  which 
prayed  for  your  welfare,  the  heart  in  which  next  to  God  you  had 
the  warmest  place — they  are  all  still  and  cold  and  dead.  You 
stand  sorely  in  need  of  comfort.  Is  such  comfort  to  be  found?  Is 
there  any  ground  to  which  you  can  anchor  any  hope  ? 

Yes,  there  is  comfort  for  you  also.  Permit  me  to  direct  your 
attention  to 

The  Abiding  Love  of  God  as  the  True  Source  of  Comfort  in 

Our  Sorrows 

I.  Is  the  love  of  God  really  abiding? 

II.  How  can  the  abiding  love  of  God  be  a  source  of  comfort  to 
us  in  our  sorrows? 

I.  Is  the  love  of  God  really  abiding?  It  Certainly  is  abiding, 
as  we  must  admit  if  we  remember  what  it  can  withstand  and  on 
what  it  is  based. 

Paul  in  our  text  recounts  a  list  of  things  which  are  liable  to 
destroy  love,  but  of  all  of  them  the  apostle  declares:  "I  am 
persuaded,  that  they  cannot  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God." 

Foremost  among  the  things  enumerated  stand  death  and  life. 

Death  indeed  severs  the  most  intimate  relations  and  the 
firmest  bonds.  Even  body  and  soul  leave  each  other  at  death's 
cold  touch  and  the  body  crumbles  into  dust  and  ashes  under  his 
influence.  But  mark  well,  death  cannot  separate  us  from  our  love 
of  God.  There  may  be  a  death-struggle  in  a  fine  home  which  is  so 
severe  and  so  prolonged  that  even  the  members  of  the  family  can 


ABIDING  LOVE  OF  GOD  THE  TRUE  SOURCE   25 

hardly  witness  it.  Again,  death  may  come  upon  one  in  a  strange 
and  far  country,  where  there  is  no  kin  or  friend  to  cool  the 
parched  lips  or  smooth  the  heated  pillow.  Up  in  the  garret,  where 
poverty  lives,  death  may  put  in  his  appearance.  Yet  in  all  of 
these  places  and  under  all  conditions  and  surroundings  the  love 
of  God  remains.  Everyone  can  truthfully  say  with  David:  ''Yea, 
though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will 
fear  no  evil:  for  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they 
comfort  me"  (Ps.  23:  4). 

Death  can  hold  neither  the  soul  nor  the  body,  though  it  does 
separate  them  for  a  time.  Death  is  followed  by  the  resurrection 
and  by  eternal  life.  In  the  very  valley  of  death,  and  while  look- 
ing up  to  God,  David,  and  with  him  everyone  who  knows  the  love 
of  God,  can  confidently  say:  ''Thou  preparest  a  table  before  me 
in  the  presence  of  mine  enemies :  thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil ; 
my  cup  runneth  over"  (Ps.  23:  5). 

Thus  death  cannot  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God. 

Life  also  cannot  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God.  The  life  of 
this  one  or  that  one  may  yet  last  many  years,  but  God  does  not 
grow  weary  of  loving.  He  is  not  like  fickle  men  who  today  are 
filled  with  an  ardent  love  for  a  person,  and  whose  love  cannot  live 
long.  If  the  object  of  their  love  loses  its  charms,  it  ceases  to  be 
loved.  Many  a  wife  and  husband,  many  a  father  and  mother  have 
lived  longer  than  the  love  which  was  at  one  time  bestowed  on 
them.  The  length  or  the  character  of  their  life  separated  them 
from  the  love  of  their  kin  and  friends.  Life  does  not,  however, 
separate  from  the  love  of  God.  Think  of  the  patriarchs.  They 
lived  long  and  they  were  not  without  faults,  but  their  length  of 
days  did  not  separate  them  from  the  love  of  God.  Every  one  can 
in  truth  say  in  regard  to  God :  ' '  Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall 
follow  me  all  the  days  of  my  life"  (Ps.  23 :  6). 

Next  are  mentioned  angels  and  principalities.  Although  an 
angel  became  a  devil,  and  although  he  succeeded  in  misleading 


26  FUNERAL   SEBMONS 

man  into  disobedience,  he  did  not  succeed  in  separating  us  from 
the  love  of  God.  ''For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not 
perish,  but  have  everlasting  life"  (John  3:  16). 

Think  of  Peter  and  Paul.  The  one  is  sifted  by  Satan  and  the 
other  is  buffeted  by  Satan's  angel,  but  neither  of  them  were  in 
this  way  separated  from  the  love  of  God. 

In  the  third  place,  the  apostle  mentions  things  present  and 
things  to  come.  At  present  we  are  passing  through  great  tribula- 
tions; we  are  undergoing  great  trials;  we  are  sustaining  great 
losses.  Must  these  things  not  cause  us  to  fall?  No!  for  these 
things  are  not  at  all  an  indication  that  the  love  of  God  has  turned 
away  from  us.  Think  of  Job  and  of  his  losses  and  afflictions.  His 
losses  and  afflictions  resulted  in  his  real  welfare.  But  what  the 
Lord  does  in  the  present  that  will  he  do  also  in  the  future.  As 
truly  as  he  gives  evidences  of  his  love  today,  even  though  with 
those  who  mourn,  so  truly  will  his  love  continue  towards  everyone 
of  us  also  in  the  days  to  come.  Even  eternity  cannot  bring  forth 
anything  which  can  separate  us  from  the  lov^of  God. 

Finally,  St.  Paul  thinks  of  height  and  de*pth.  David  and 
Solomon  rose  to  the  throne,  while  Joseph,  Peter,  John,  Paul  went 
down  into  the  prison,  but  the  love  of  God  was  not  thereby 
affected.  It  continued  to  exist  and  to  show  itself. 

Surely  the  love  of  God  can  endure  much.  No  creature  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God. 

Remember  also  upon  what  the  love  of  God  is  based. 

There  is  nothing  in  us  which  would  kindle  or  sustain  God's 
love  to  us.  Look  at  that  which  we  are  by  nature  and  at  that  which 
we  can  do.  By  nature  we  are  the  children  of  wrath.  "We  are 
conceived  and  born  in  sin.  Out  of  this  bad  condition  of  our  hearts 
come  forth  evil  thoughts,  words  and  deeds.  Even  our  best 
efforts,  our  righteousness,  are  as  filthy  rags  before  God.  This, 
moreover,  applies  to  all.    There  is  none  that  doeth  good  and 


ABIDING  LOVE  OF  GOD  THE  TEUE  SOURCE   27 

sinneth  not.  ''If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves, 
and  the  truth  is  not  in  us"  (I  John  1:8). 

God,  however,  is  holy.  He  hates  sin.  He  cannot  love  it.  There- 
fore we  cannot  think  or  say  that  God  loves  us  on  account  of  that 
which  we  are  by  nature  or  can  do  by  our  own  strength  and  effort. 

St.  Paul  tells  us  that  the  love  of  God,  which  nothing  can  turn 
away  from  us,  is  the  love  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 

Christ  Jesus  is  he  of  whom  we  say:  ''I  believe,  that  Jesus 
Christ,  true  God-begotten  of  the  Father  from  eternity,  and  also 
true  man,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  is  my  Lord." 

God's  own  Son  took  upon  himself  the  form  of  man.  He  was 
born  of  a  woman.  He  was  made  our  own  Brother.  Moreover,  he 
took  our  place,  becoming  our  substitute.  It  is  he  of  whom  we 
confess,  that  he  ''has  redeemed  me,  a  lost  and  condemned 
creature,  purchased  and  won  me  from  all  sins,  from  death,  and 
from  the  power  of  the  devil,  not  with  gold  or  silver,  but  with  his 
holy,  precious  blood  and  with  his  innocent  suffering  and  death." 
Jesus  Christ  has  removed  all  that  sin  had  put  between  us  and  the 
love  of  God.  There  was  the  law  and  its  just  but  unsatisfied  re- 
quirements. Jesus  put  himself  under  the  law  and  fulfilled  all  of 
its  demands ;  he  did  this  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law. 
There  was  the  punishment  deserved  by  our  transgression.  This 
punishment  is  death ;  for  the  wages  of  sin  is  death.  Jesus  paid  for 
this  also;  for  he  died  for  our  guilt.  He,  as  our  substitute,  was 
forsaken  of  God,  because  we  had  forsaken  God.  Thus  was  the 
wall  of  separation  removed. 

"When  we  now  belong  to  those  of  whom  St.  Paul  says  that  no 
creature  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  we 
appear  before  God  no  more  as  we  are  by  nature,  but  as  we  are 
in  Christ  Jesus.  His  merits  are  ours.  His  righteousness  covers  our 
sins.  In  him  we  are  pleasing  and  acceptable  to  God.  This  is  the 
case  when  we  stand  as  did  St.  Paul,  when  he  wrote  to  the  congre- 
gation at  Rome,  and  as  that  congregation  at  Rome  stood,  when 


28  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

Paul  addressed  his  epistle  to  them.  Paul  and  the  Roman  congre- 
gation were  full  of  faith,  and  were  thus  real  children  of  God. 
The  same  conditions  exist  today.  It  is  through  faith  that  we  are 
made  partakers  of  the  merits  and  righteousness  of  Christ.  Paul 
states  it  thus:  "We  conclude  that  a  man  is  justified  by  faith 
without  the  deeds  of  the  law"  (Rom.  3:  28). 

God's  love  to  us  has,  therefore,  a  good  ground.  God  loves  us 
in  his  own  Son  whose  righteousness  we  have  appropriated  by 
faith.  Should  such  a  love  not  be  abiding?  When  all  else  fails, 
God's  love  to  us  who  have  accepted  Christ  as  our  Redeemer  will 
not  fail.  Keep  this  in  mind,  dear  friends,  in  this  time  of  sorrow. 
It  will  redound  to  your  welfare. 

II.  How  can  the  abiding  love  of  God  be  a  source  of  comfort  to 
us  in  our  sorrows? 

In  general  it  is  admitted,  that  where  we  find  real  love,  we  may 
be  sure  of  finding  blessings  in  store  for  th^e  who  are  the  objects 
of  such  love.  Think  of  a  child  and  its  mother.  The  Lord  himself 
says : '  ^  Can  a  woman  forget  her  sucking  child,  that  she  should  not 
have  compassion  on  the  son  of  her  womb"  (Isa.  49:  15)  ?  If  any 
hurt  or  harm  threatens  that  child,  the  mother  flies  to  its  aid.  Day 
and  night  that  mother  will  plan  and  think  and  labor  for  the 
welfare  of  her  little  one.  The  child,  moreover,  knows  this  and 
will,  therefore,  in  times  of  trouble,  seek  help  and  encouragement 
from  its  mother.  It  knows  quite  well  that  a  mother  whose  love 
is  so  evident  cannot  fail  to  help  in  need,  and  to  give  that  which 
must  be  of  real  good. 

Think  of  the  prodigal,  mentioned  in  the  parable.  He  was  in  a 
far  country.  He  had  sought  the  pleasures  of  the  world.  He  was  a 
disappointed,  forsaken  man.  What  induced  him  in  his  wretched- 
ness to  turn  his  thoughts  and  then  his  steps  towards  the  home 
which  he  had  so  foolishly  left?  He  knew  of  his  father's  love. 
This  convinced  him  that  he  would  receive  nothing  but  good  things 
at  the  hands  of  his  father.   His  father's  love  was  a  guarantee  to 


ABIDING  LOVE  OF  GOD  THE  TRUE  SOURCE   29 

the  prodigal  son  that  even  for  him  there  would  be  a  kindly  con- 
sideration on  the  part  of  the  father,  even  though  this  would  give 
him  only  a  place  among  the  servants. 

We  may  well  say,  that  in  general  among  men,  where  there  is 
real  love  we  may  expect  blessings.  Should  the  case  be  different  in 
regard  to  our  God  ?  We  have  seen  that  his  love  is  truly  great  and 
enduring.  Can  we,  with  this  before  us,  for  a  moment  think  that 
this  loving  God  will  let  evil  befall  us?  Must  we  not  with  the 
apostle  declare:  ''We  know  that  all  things  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God"  (Rom.  8:  28).  Many  things  may, 
indeed,  for  the  time  being,  be  dark  to  us.  We  may  not  be  able  to 
say:  "This  is  good  for  this  and  that  good  for  that."  In  many 
things  the  Lord  must  say  to  us  as  he  said  to  Peter  of  old :  ' '  What 
I  do  thou  knowest  not  now;  but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter" 
(John  13:  7).  As  we  increase  in  our  understanding  of  spiritual 
things,  as  our  faith  grows,  we  shall  learn  to  see  the  wisdom  and 
the  goodness  of  our  loving  Lord  in  some  things  which  at  first 
were  utterly  dark  to  us.  But  even  though  in  this  life  we  should 
never  fully  understand  why  God  has  sent  this  or  that  cross  upon 
us,  we  are  still  sure  of  this,  that  he  that  spared  not  his  own  Son, 
but  delivered  him  up  for  us,  will  with  him  give  us  all  things. 
When  once  we  stand  before  God's  throne  of  glory,  and  look  back 
on  our  experiences  here  on  earth,  we  shall  surely  find  that  not 
only  many  things,  but  absolutely  all  things  did  work  for  our 
good.  Of  this  we  must  be  sure  if  we  are  sure  of  the  abiding  love 
of  God  towards  us  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.   This  gives  comfort. 

In  the  case  before  us  we  have  reason  to  say:  God  loved  the 
departed  one  and  he  also  loves  you,  hence  he  cannot  have  done 
anything  that  is  evil. 

How  do  we  know  that  God  loved  the  departed  one?  Was  she 
not  included  among  those  whom  Christ  redeemed  by  his  suffering 
and  death?  Was  she  not  one  of  whom  St.  Paul  says:  "Ye  are  all 
the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus ;  for  as  many  of  you 


30  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ"  (Gal.  3: 
26,  27)  ?  In  infancy  already  God  made  his  covenant  of  grace  with 
her  in  holy  baptism.  The  faith  then  planted  into  her  heart  was 
nurtured  by  proper  instructions,  received  from  Christian  parents 
and  teachers.  She  was  permitted  to  confess  her  faith  before 
many  witnesses  at  confirmation.  All  the  days  of  her  life  she  had 
access  to  the  Word  of  God  and  to  the  sacrament  of  the  altar. 
Through  these  means  of  grace  she  was  instructed,  admonished, 
corrected,  comforted  and  directed  heavenward.  Are  these  not 
proofs  of  God's  love  for  the  departed  one? 

But  how  about  her  sickness,  her  sufferings  and  her  departure  ? 
Are  there  any  marks  of  love  in  these  ?  God  who  did  her  so  much 
good  gave  her  no  evil  in  the  end.  Was  God  not  with  her  in  her 
sickness  ?  Did  he  not  give  her  strength  and  patience  and  resigna- 
tion? Did  he  not  keep  her  in  faith  even  unto  the  end?  Are  these 
not  marks  of  love  and  not  marks  of  anger  or  of  neglect? 

Go  further  now  and  ask  yourselves:  "Has  God  done  evil  to 
our  departed  one  by  taking  her  away  from  this  life  ? ' '  What  did 
she  lose?  She  has  been  removed  from  a  world  of  sin  and  sorrow, 
a  world  of  trials  and  temptations,  a  world  of  imperfections  and 
disappointments.  She  has  instead  for  Christ's  sake  gone  to  that 
place  of  which  St.  John  writes:  "Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God 
is  with  men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his 
people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God. 
And  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes;  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  more  pain;  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away" 
(Rev.  21 :  3,  4).  She  has  joined  the  company  of  those  of  whom  it  is 
said:  "Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  hence- 
forth. Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors ; 
and  their  works  do  follow  them"  (Rev.  14:  13).  Of  her,  too, 
Jesus  declares:  "I  am  the  resurrection,  and  the  life;  he  that 
believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live"  (John  11 : 


ABIDING  LOVE  OF  GOD  THE  TEUE  SOURCE   31 

25).  "The  hour  is  coming  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves 
shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  come  forth;  they  that  have  done 
good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  they  that  have  done  evil, 
unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation"  (John  5:  28.  29). 

Her  immortal  soul  has  gone  into  the  rest  of  God's  children, 
and  her  body,  after  a  rest  ki  the  grave,  will  be  raised  and  in  its 
glorified  condition  will  be  reunited  with  the  soul.  Of  this  we  can 
be  sure  because  he  who  loved  her  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  has 
given  us  this  assurance.   Should  this  not  comfort  you? 

How  do  we  know  that  God  loves  you?  ^Yas  it  not  God  who 
gave  you  a  truly  Christian  wife  and  mother?  Is  this  not  a  great 
blessing?  You  know  this  better  than  I  can  tell  you?  You  will 
appreciate  what  she  was  to  you  in  the  days  to  come,  but  every 
time  you  are  led  to  think  of  her  kindly  Christian  work  and  influ- 
ence in  your  home,  do  not  forget  that  God  gave  her  to  you,  and 
gave  you  with  her  a  mark  of  his  love.  God  has  taken  your  wife 
and  mother  from  you.  Has  he  done  you  no  act  of  love  in  this  ?  He 
has  done  so  much  assuredly.  By  taking  her  away  he  directs  your 
attention  more  than  ever  to  the  truth  that  we  have  here  no  abid- 
ing city.  He  turns  your  minds  to  heavenly  things.  He  tells  you  in 
a  most  forcible  manner  to  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  right- 
eousness. God  wants  j^ou  to  be  where  she  is  and  he,  therefore, 
took  her  before  taking  you  through  the  valley  of  death  into  the 
mansions  of  heaven.  By  so  doing  he  would  lead  you  with  all  ear- 
nestness to  seek  him  who  is  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the  Life.  Is 
this  not  a  proof  of  God's  love  to  you? 

You  are  today  directed  to  God's  "Word  by  God's  servant.  You 
are  told  where  God's  fountains  of  comfort  flow.  You  are  being 
pointed  to  the  green  pastures  and  the  living  waters  of  God's 
Word.  If  you  go  to  these  fountains  today,  and  find  comfort  and 
consolation,  will  you  not  go  there  after  today  also  ?  Will  you  not 
more  than  ever  before  taste  and  see  how  good  the  Lord  is?  I  hope 
you  will  do  this.   But  if  you  will  make  the  Word  of  God  hence- 


32  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

forth  your  daily  study,  it  will  bring  you  unspeakable  blessings. 
It  will  increase  and  preserve  your  faith.  It  will  give  you  hope.  It 
will  turn  you  from  the  allurements  of  the  world  to  the  one  thing 
needful,  to  Christ  and  his  righteousness.  Is  this  not  good?  Is  it 
not  a  mark  of  God's  love?  With  this  before  you,  can  you  not  find 
comfort  in  the  abiding  love  of  God?  Can  you  not,  though  it  be 
with  streaming  eyes,  say:  ''Nothing,  I  am  certain,  can  turn  God's 
love  away  from  me,  and  now  I  pray  God,  that  this  affliction  may 
not  turn  my  love  away  from  him,  but  may  lead  me  to  cling  to  him 
with  childlike  confidence." 

Cling,  then,  dear  friends,  to  our  ever  loving  God.  Pour  out 
your  hearts  before  him.  Seek  his  Word.  He  loves  you  and  he  will 
heal  your  hearts  for  Jesus'  sake.  Amen. 


GOD'S  STANDARD  OF  GREATNESS 
By  Rev.  C.  B.  Gohdes 

**As  unknown,  and  yet  well-known;  as  dying,  and,  "behold,  we  live;    as 
chastened,  and  not  killed." — ^11  Cor.  6:  9. 

Occasion:  Funeral  Sermon,  Preached  for  a  Godly  Woman  in 
Humble  Circumstances 

A  wife,  a  mother  dead !  Orphaned  children,  a  lonely  husband, 
a  home  from  which  its  guardian  angel  has  departed !  Nor  is  it  the 
bereaved  family  only  which  feels  the  loss.  In  the  congregation 
none  was  more  faithful  than  she.  We,  pastor  and  flock,  share  the 
bereavement.  Aside  from  the  family  and  the  congregation,  how- 
ever, barely  any  note  is  taken  of  the  loss  of  our  sister,  appalling 
though  it  be  to  her  nearest  of  kin,  painful  though  it  be  to  the 
congregational  family.  The  daily  paper  accords  her  no  para- 
graph ;  society  drafts  no  resolutions  of  condolence.  Unconcerned, 
the  stream  of  human  life  flows  on,  regardless  of  human  hearts 
that  grieve  and  break  in  obscurity. 

The  utter  absence  of  interest  in  the  life,  the  death,  the  burial 
of  our  beloved  sister  is  a  link  of  union  between  her  and  Jesus.  No 
life  so  beneficent  as  Christ's,  no  death  so  momentous — yet  no 
worldly  biographer  chronicled  the  loving  deeds  of  that  divine 
life,  and  inconsiderable  was  the  interest  displayed  by  the  con- 
temporary world  in  a  death  at  the  sight  of  which  the  sun  dipped 
into  eclipse. 

The  world's  standard  of  greatness  is  different  from  God's.  The 
world  is  infatuated  by  human  wisdom,  by  power,  by  wealth,  in 
short  by  that  which  is  extraordinary.  But  God 's  queens  may  serve 
in  kitchens,  the  sceptre  of  his  royalty  often  rests  in  the  calloused 


34  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

hands  of  labor,  and  obscurity  is  not  seldom  the  halldom  of  his 
saints. 

'*  As  unknown,  and  yet  well  known. "  These  words,  taken  from 
what  might  be  termed  Paul's  autobiography,  I  have  chosen  to 
describe  the  life  of  our  sister,  one  of  God's  obscure  saints.  As  a 
spray  from  God's  garden  of  flowers  I  place  them  upon  her  coffin, 
that  the  tender  greeting  of  their  fragrance  may,  in  a  measure, 
relieve  the  grief  of  our  hearts. 

We  speak  of  the  life  to  coning  in  distinction  from  the  present 
life.  This  distinction  is  in  a  measure  justified  by  the  contrast 
between  the  conditions  of  life  on  earth  and  those  of  the  life  in 
heaven.  Here  we  weep — no  wails  shall  sound  among  the  trees  of 
life!  Here  we  toil,  and  often  back  and  hands  and  heart  are 
weary  from  the  severity  and  the  unfruitfulness  of  our  toil — no 
toil  in  heaven!  Here  the  flight  of  the  soul  is  hindered  by  a  pon- 
derous body — there  progress  has  no  barriers,  and  the  assertion  of 
thought  and  will  are  its  methods.  Here  we  sow  in  tears — there 
we  reap  in  joy.  Here  we  trust,  though  our  vision  is  veiled — there 
the  brightness  of  God's  smile  shall  irradiate  our  faces.  But, 
though  the  difference  between  earth  and  heaven  be  the  difference 
between  the  tear  and  the  sparkling  diamond,  there  is  no  essential 
difference  between  the  life  now  lived  by  us  and  the  life  we  shall 
live  after  passing  the  portals  of  death.  Death  is  no  sacrament  to 
give  the  soul  fitness  for  God's  presence.  The  Christian  life  on 
earth  is  the  germ  of  the  life  which  shall  flower  and  fruit  in 
heaven.  We  shall  be  spiritually  and  morally  in  heaven  what  we 
are  becoming  spiritually  and  morally  on  earth. 

Extraordinary  deeds  and  striking  performances,  therefore,  are 
not  essential  to  the  Christian  life,  unless  called  forth  by  extraor- 
dinary opportunities.  The  Christian  life  may  be  lived  in  the 
obscurest  sphere  by  avoiding  sin,  by  seeking  after  righteousness, 
by  wrestling  with  wrong  as  our  only  real  foe.  How  great  was  the 
life  of  our  sister  when  considered  from  this  standpoint !  Her  trust 


GOD'S  STANDARD  OF  GREATNESS        35 

was  altogether  placed  in  the  grace  of  God  and  Christ's  blood- 
bought  merits.  She  was  a  saint  of  God  who  brightened  her  lowly 
sphere  with  a  lustre  caught  from  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  Her 
life  left  no  stamp  upon  ''society,"  but  her  prayers  moved  the 
hand  of  omnipotence.  She  was  content  with  the  bread  of  hard, 
ill-paid  labor,  rejoicing  in  the  grace  which  enabled  her  to  feed 
upon  the  bread  of  life.  She  never  gave  anyone  occasion  for  stum- 
bling ;  but  her  unobtrusive  godliness  acted  upon  her  surroundings 
with  the  force  of  a  moral  tonic.  She  was  almost  unknown  beyond  the 
divinely  appointed  sphere  of  home  and  church;  but,  clad  in  the 
garment  of  Jesus'  righteousness,  unpolluted  by  the  fashions  of  the 
world,  she  was  heralded  upon  her  advent  in  heaven  by  God's 
angels,  and  from  the  position  of  the  obscure  wife  of  a  working- 
man  she  has  advanced  to  the  sceptred  estate  of  one  of  God's 
queens.  Unknown  to  earth,  she  is  well  known  in  heaven. 

I  express  this  hope  on  the  strength  of  the  noble  service  where- 
by she  has  demonstrated  her  trust  in  Christ.  Do  not  be  aston- 
ished! I  do  not  say  "conspicuous"  service.  I  say  ''noble"  serv- 
ice, for  a  life  of  noble  service  hers  has  been.  She  gave  expression 
to  the  fact  that  she  was  one  of  God's  immortals  by  the  patient, 
prayerful,  conscientious  performance  of  the  lowly  duties  of  her 
calling  on  earth.  Let  us  not  think  that  those  who  take  a  direct 
part  in  evangelizing  the  world  are  the  only  powerful  witnesses 
for  Christ.  Witness  for  Christ  is  often  borne  with  silent  lip  by  the 
consecration  of  life's  "lowly  weal  and  dole."  Is  it  not  highly 
significant  and  inspiring  that  Christ,  in  the  state  of  humiliation, 
disdained  a  conspicuous,  lucrative  position?  The  carpenter's 
lathe  and  axe  were  his  tools  of  labor,  were  his  expression  of  the 
life  to  be  lived  by  God's  immortals  in  its  earthly  relation.  The 
showy  life,  the  conspicuous  deed,  may  result  in  fame  for  us,  but  it 
may  leave  heaven  unstirred.  Of  old,  men,  with  utterly  false 
conceptions  of  holiness,  would  spend  their  lives  in  seclusion  from 
their  fellows  and  in  disdain  of  ordinary  labor.    To  be  near  to 


36  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

heaven  they  would  dwell  upon  high  pillars;  to  be  remote  from 
the  world  they  would  immure  themselves  behind  convent  walls; 
to  exhibit  contempt  for  wealth  they  would  beg.  But  did  they  not 
become  victims  of  spiritual  pride  by  failing  to  heed  the  lessons 
taught  by  the  sainthood  of  Jesus,  who  served  his  parents  in  one  of 
the  lowliest  of  callings? 

"Do  today  tht^nearest  duty! 

Our  work  counts  for  more  than  words. 
Three  things  are  great: 
Conscience  and  will — and  courage 
To  fulfil  the  duties  these  create.^' 

If  zealous,  patient,  prayerful  performance  of  the  lowly  duties 
of  every-day  life  demonstrates  greatness  in  God's  sight,  we  should 
revere  the  signs  of  toil  upon  the  silent  brow  and  hand  as  the 
hallmark  of  truest  royalty.  How  unremitting  her  work  in  spite  of 
the  feebleness  of  her  body!  How  sweet,  how  uncomplaining  her 
work  despite  the  meagerness  of  earthly  reward!  Her  work  was 
never  done,  yet  her  well-thumbed  Bible  and  prayer-book  attest 
that  she  had  time  to  pray.  She  has  left  no  jewels  to  her  daughter, 
no  lands  and  merchandise  to  her  sons,  no  dowry  of  earthly  treas- 
ure to  her  husband.  What  she  has  left  is  the  noble  example  of  a 
life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God.  The  uplift  you,  0  husband,  re- 
ceived, when  you  would  come  from  your  daily  task,  toil-worn, 
and  often  dispirited, — from  that  godly,  consecrated  heart,  now 
silent,  you  received  it.  The  Christian  faith  cherished  by  you, 
children,  the  priceless  treasures  of  worship  and  Christian  joy  you 
possess,  largely  to  your  mother  you  owe  them  under  God.  Re- 
nown and  greatness  before  the  world  are  often  purchased  with 
inattention  to  soul-culture,  to  Christian  principle  and  morality,  to 
the  requirements  of  the  inner  life.  Spiritual  influence  and  power 
however,  are  often  exerted  in  inverse  proportion  to  earthly  great- 
ness and  renown.  These  hands,  now  folded  in  death,  have  left  a 
blessing  foreign  to  many  a  jeweled  hand — a  home  blessed  by 


GOD'S  STANDARD  OF  GREATNESS        37 

Christ.  Our  Christian  sister's  life  was  a  never-ending  round  of 
sacrifice,  patiently,  prayerfully  offered.  And  it  is  precisely  such 
constant,  uncomplaining  sacrifice  of  love  which  produces  that 
greatness  which  is  the  joy  of  God  and  the  marvel  of  heaven. 

** Measure  thy  life  by  loss  and  not  by  gain; 

Not  by  the  wine  drunk,  but  the  wine  poured  forth: 
For  love's  strength  standeth  in  love's  sacrifice, 
And  whoso  suffers  most  has  most  to  give." 

''As  dying  and  behold,  we  live."  So  Paul  characterizes  from 
another  standpoint  the  life  hidden  with  Christ  in  God.  Those  of 
us  who  were  privileged  to  witness  the  last  sickness  of  our  sainted 
sister  were  edified,  not  to  say  amazed,  by  the  courage,  the  heroism, 
with  which  our  sister  met  and  mastered  the  king  of  terrors. 
Dying,  to  her,  was  an  extraordinary  test  of  faith.  Humanly 
speaking,  she  cannot  be  replaced.  You,  husband,  felt  you  needed 
her,  to  whose  sweet,  unintermittent  devotion  you  owed  not  only 
much  earthly  comfort,  but,  under  God,  your  main  moral  support, 
upon  the  path  of  duty.  You,  children,  felt  you  needed  her  in  the 
thousand  thousand  offices  of  love  to  which  only  the  loving  mother 
hand  is  equal.  All  this  she,  too,  realized;  and  when  she  prayed 
for  recovery  it  was  not  because  life  harbored  much  promise  and 
sweetness  aside  from  your  affection,  but  because  she  felt  that 
you  needed  the  support  of  a  mother's  hand,  a  mother's  love,  a 
mother's  presence.  But  did  she  shrink  in  dismay  from  the 
revelation  that,  after  all,  death  would  be  the  issue  of  her  sickness, 
although  it  struck  terror  to  your  hearts?  On  the  contrary,  in 
resignation,  in  complete  readiness,  with  joy,  she  faced  death, 
consigning  both  her  soul  and  her  orphaned  home  to  her  Savior. 

Why  was  her  death  not  a  defeat,  but  a  rapture  into  life? 
Because  her  life  had  been  a  continuous  death  to  flesh  and  world. 
Dying,  she  lived!  In  this  populous  city  thousands  were  situated 
as  she.  Existence  is  possible  to  them  only  upon  the  basis  of 
unceasing  toil,  rigid  economy,  endless  sacrifice  of  comfort.   Such 


38  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

life  will  produce  discontent  and  rebellion  against  God's  benign 
government,  save  upon  the  basis  of  close  and  constant  communion 
with  God.  Thousands  lack  the  latter,  and,  in  consequence,  the 
rich,  spiritual  and  moral  opportunities  of  a  life  meager  in  earthly 
resources  are  killed  by  fretfulness,  envy,  discontent,  and  ingrati- 
tude for  the  wealth  of  grace  in  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  an  abundant 
compensation  for  every  ill.  Because  the  world  has  not  vouch- 
safed them  her  treasure  trove  of  temporal  abundance  many  refuse 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  eternal  plenty  God  intends  as  compen- 
sation. Not  so  our  sister  in  Christ.  Nerved  by  grace,  enriched  by 
the  gifts  of  the  Spirit;  joy,  peace,  prayer,  love,  self-denial,  she 
died  to  self  and  world.  The  very  restrictions  of  her  situation  in 
life  which  would  have  seemed  elements  of  death  to  others,  were 
to  her  opportunities  to  rise  to  largest  liberty  in  Christ.  And  so 
it  came  about  that  the  pathetic  exterior  of  toil  and  dearth  con- 
cealed and  protected  a  vast  wealth  of  spiritual  life. 

Oh!  that  we  might  learn  the  lesson!  Life  does  not  mean  the 
abundance  of  the  things  one  possesses — wealth,  pleasure,  position, 
opportunity  for  self-gratification.  It  means  faith,  love,  service, 
hope,  submission  to  God.  True  life  does  not  come  with  its  tide  of 
blessings  in  answer  to  earthly  desire.  But  mortify  the  flesh,  cru- 
cify unlawful  desire  on  the  cross  of  repentance,  and,  dying  to 
the  lower  self,  you  find  the  higher  self  quickened  and  fruitful 
and  attended  by  a  host  of  joys  too  deep  for  utterance!  Seek  life 
in  what  the  world  calls  life — the  enlargement  and  gratification  of 
the  lower  self,  and  you  will  meet  death  as  a  slave,  with  a  trem- 
bling and  fear,  and  regrets  fierce  and  unavailing  will  surge 
through  the  heart !  But  seek  life  in  what  God  calls  life,  in  fellow- 
ship with  him,  in  self-sacrifice,  in  free  submission  to  his  will; 
enlarge  and  foster  your  inner  life  by  crucifying  everything  that 
retards  and  threatens  its  development,  and  you  shall  be  able  to 
meet  and  master  the  old  foe,  because  you  have  died  daily  to  sin, 
which  is  the  sting  of  death  and  its  essence.  Death  shall  come  to 


GOD'S  STANDARD  OF  GREATNESS        39 

the  Christian  as  a  deliverer  and  the  harbinger  of  a  perfect  life. 
He  is  great  in  God's  sight  who  has  died  to  what  makes  death 
terrible,  and  therefore,  can  bid  the  destroyer  welcome.  "As 
dying,  and,  behold,  we  live." 

''As  chastened  and  not  killed."  This  clause  of  my  text  I 
apply  to  you,  my  mourning  friends.  The  grief  which  God  has 
sent  you  is  designed  as  a  means  to  spiritual  strength  and  great- 
ness. On  the  surface  it  would  appear  that  death  has  robbed  you 
of  your  chief  treasure  in  life :  of  the  loving  wife,  the  faithful, 
zealous  mother  with  the  inspiration  of  her  presence  and  the  caress 
of  her  patient,  tender  hand.  But  I  know  you  will  not  go  home 
from  her  last  resting-place  embittered  and  defiant  because  what 
joy  you  had  in  life  has  been  taken.  No !  joy  is  not  dead.  One  of 
the  chief  sources  is  still  flowing  strong  and  clear,  namely,  duty. 
Your  wife  in  heaven,  0  husband,  your  Savior,  my  Christian 
brother,  both  look  to  you  to  continue  single-handed  the  work 
upon  the  souls  of  your  children.  These  Christian  hearts  are  the 
treasure  your  godly  wife  has  left  you,  to  care  for  them,  to  keep 
them  untarnished  from  the  world,  and,  in  the  face  of  perpetual 
temptation,  to  guard  them  against  the  destroyer.  You,  0  children, 
are  the  only  joy  remaining  to  your  father  on  earth,  save  the 
spiritual  joys  which  his  Christian  faith  provides.  Support  by 
double  love  and  devotion  the  hand  which,  so  far,  has  had  the 
main  earthly  staff  and  stay  in  the  love  of  your  sainted  mother! 
Let  the  mother's  faith  survive  the  mother's  presence;  let  the 
angel  of  unselfish  love,  whom  she  cherished  as  the  permanent 
guest  of  her  home,  continue  his  noble  ministration,  and  you  will 
emerge  from  the  gloom  of  your  bereavement,  not  killed  by  de- 
spair, but  merely  chastened,  and  stronger  than  ever  to  do  the  will 
of  God,  whether  by  the  performance  of  duty  or  by  suffering.  And 
deep  in  your  hearts  shall  shine  the  light  of  that  deathless  hope 
that  the  beloved  is  not  lost  but  translated  to  the  higher  life  for 
which  your  present  chastening  is  a  preparation. 


40  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

Glorious  Gospel!  It  has  a  cheering  message  even  concerning 
life  *s  weariness  and  the  clutch  of  its  terrors.  It  does  not  deny  or 
conceal  the  travails  ^gf.  life  nor  the  bitterness  of  death  and  of 
parting,  but  it  transngures  them  into  prophecies  and  sources  of 
the  sweet  rest  that  is  to  be. 

"My  feet  are  weary  and  my  hands  are  tired, 
My  soul  oppressed; 
And  I  desire  what  I  have  oft  desired — 
Rest,  only  rest. 

"  'Tis  hard  to  toil  when  toil  is  almost  vain 
In  barren  ways; 
'Tis  hard  to  sow  and  never  gather  grain 
In  harvest  days. 

'^The  burden  of  my  days  is  hard  to  bear, 
But  God  knows  best; 
And  I  have  prayed,  but  vain  has  been  my  prayer, 
For  rest,  sweet  rest. 

"  'Tis  hard  to  plant  in  spring  and  never  reap 
The  autumn  yield; 
'Tis  hard  to  till,  when  His  tilled  to  weep 
O'er  fruitless  field. 

"And  so  I  cry  a  weak  and  human  cry. 
So  heart-oppressed; 
And  so  I  sigh  a  weak  and  human  sigh 
For  rest — for  rest. 

"My  way  has  wound  around  the  desert  years, 
And  cares  infest 
My  path,  and  thro'  the  flowing  of  hot  tears 
I  pine  for  rest. 

"And  I  am  restless  still — 'twill  soon  be  o'er; 
Far  down  the  west 
Life 's  sun  is  setting,  and  I  see  the  shore 
Where  I  shall  rest." 

Amen. 


THUS  SAITH  THE  LORD 
By  Rev.  W.  E.  Schramm 

•*.  .  .  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Set  thine  house  in  order;  for  thou  shalt 
die,  and  not  live." — ^11  Kings  20:  1. 

Occasion:  Far  a  Stranger 

Sorrowing  Friends : 

Death,  that  silent,  mysterious  and  dreadful  visitor,  has  come 
among  us  once  more.  Quite  unexpectedly  he  has  entered  this 
home,  and  has  laid  his  icy  hand  upon  the  brow  of  a  son  of  this 
household.  In  the  prime  and  vigor  of  manhood  the  summons  has 
come  to  him,  and  yielding  to  that  summons  his  soul  has  gone  into 
the  presence  of  his  Maker  and  his  Judge. 

It  was  not  my  privilege  to  know  the  deceased  personally,  and 
I  shall,  therefore,  make  no  attempt  to  speak  of  his  character  or 
life.  I  am  informed  that  as  a  boy  he  attended  a  Lutheran 
Sunday-school  with  some  regularity,  but  that  since  that  time,  it 
has  been  but  occasionally  that  he  has  attended  the  services  of  any 
church.  Yet,  I  have  no  desire,  I  have  indeed  no  right,  to  pass 
judgment  upon  his  relation  to  God.  There  is  but  One  who  is 
competent  to  judge  souls  righteously,  and  he  is  the  Lord  on  high. 
His  Word  declares,  that  "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall 
be  saved,  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  If  this 
young  man  went  before  God 's  judgment  throne  with  a  living  faith 
in  Christ  Jesus,  if  there  was  in  his  heart  a  clinging  trust  in  the 
Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  it  is  well 
with  him.  If  he  departed  without  this  trusting  faith,  the  Script- 
ures give  us  no  word  of  comfort  which  I  can  bring  to  you  in  this 
hour.    Leaving  your  friend  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord,  who  is 

41 


4^  PUNEEAL   SERMONS 

a  righteous  Judge,  permit  me  to  address  a  few  earnest  words  to 
you,  who  are  here  ^gsembled  in  this  hour  of  mourning  and 
sorrow. 

I  ask  you  to  notice  carefully  that  the  message  I  bring  to  you  is 
not  mine.  It  is  the  message  of  Almighty  God.  This  brief  text 
begins,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord."  It  is,  therefore,  our  great  God  and 
King  who  says,  ' '  Set  thine  house  in  order ;  for  thou  slialt  die  and 
not  live."  This  message  God  sent  to  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah, 
long  years  ago,  and  he  had  it  recorded  for  our  admonition  and 
warning  today.  In  these  words  the  Lord  gives  us  first  an  earnest 
exhortation — "Set  thine  house  in  order";  and  in  the  second 
place,  he  presses  this  exhortation  home  to*  us  with  an  unanswer- 
able argument — "For  thou  shalt  die  and  not  live." 

"Set  thine  house  in  order."  "Ah,"  someone  may  say,  "I 
have  given  careful  attention  to  this  matter.  I  have  written  my 
will.  I  have  made  ample  provision  for  my  family.  My  private 
papers  are  all  arranged  in  order.  Everything  is  in  readiness  for 
the  executor  when  my  end  comes.  I  have  set  my  house  in  order." 
My  friends,  these  are  matters  which  may  and  should  receive  a 
certain  amount  of  attention,  but  there  are  duties  which  are  far 
more  important  than  any  of  these.  None  of  these  things  will 
prepare  you  to  meet  your  God.  None  of  these  things  will  prepare 
you  for  the  judgment  to  come.  You  need,  above  all  things,  a 
preparation  which  will  cleanse  you  from  your  sins,  for  it  is  sin 
that  has  put  your  house  into  disorder  and  confusion.  As  long 
as  your  soul  is  burdened  and  stained  with  unpardoned  sin,  so 
long  3^our  house  has  not  been  set  in  order. 

This  cleansing  from  sin  can  be  accomplished  in  just  one  way, 
and  that  is  the  way  of  repentance  and  faith.  "Repent  ye  and 
believe  the  Gospel."  This  is  the  way  of  salvation  which  Jesus 
proclaimed,  and  in  these  words  he  gives  us  plain  directions  for 
setting  our  house  in  order.  There  is  no  other  way.  Repentance 
is  necessary,  because  the  man  who  is  not  repentant  will  not  see 


THUS   SAITH   THE    LORD  43 

his  need  of  Christ,  and,  therefore,  will  never  open  his  heart  to 
receive  the  Savior.  We  must  truly  acknowledge  that  we  have 
broken  God's  holy  law  in  thought,  word  and  deed.  We  must 
recognize  the  fact  that  our  sins  have  offended  God,  and  that  on 
account  of  them  we  deserve  God's  temporal  and  eternal  punish- 
ment. We  must  be  truly  sorry  because  of  our  wickedness,  and 
turn  away  from  sin  with  loathing.  Such  convictions  in  the  heart 
indicate  a  repentant  spirit,  and  repentance  is  an  essential  part 
of  setting  our  house  in  order. 

But  repentance  must  be  joined  to  faith  in  Christ.  Genuine  re- 
pentance ever  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  confidence  that  God  for 
Christ's  sake  forgives  sin.  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please 
God  in  any  matter,  but  he  who  holds  to  Christ  in  faith,  has  peace 
with  God ;  he  has  pardon  from  his  sins ;  he  has  power  to  live  .the 
life  which  glorifies  the  Lord.  Christ  in  the  heart  cleanses  us  from 
all  that  is  offensive  to  God,  and  supplies  us  with  all  that  we  need 
to  find  favor  in  his  sight.  In  other  words,  Christ  in  the  heart  sets 
the  house  completely  in  order.  Men  ask,  ^'What  shall  I  do  to  be 
saved?"  My  friends,  our  salvation  is  not  something  which  we  do, 
but  a  work  which  divine  grace  does  for  us.  It  is  not  wages  which 
we  earn,  but  a  gift  which  God  bestows  upon  us  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Our  blessed  Savior  lived  and  died  that  he  might  redeem  us.  He 
stands  at  the  door  of  our  heart  and  knocks.  When  we  believe  his 
promise,  we  open  the  door  to  admit  him.  He  enters  and  banishes 
all  the  rubbish  of  iniquity  and  adorns  us  with  the  furnishings  of 
holiness.   Then  is  our  house  in  order. 

But  let  us  pass  on  to  the  argument  which  our  Lord  uses  to 
make  us  feel  the  great  importance  of  his  exhortation  and  the 
urgent  necessity  for  us  to  take  it  earnestly  to  heart.  ' '  Thou  shalt 
die  and  not  live."  This  argument  applied  to  King  Hezekiah  in 
olden  time.  It  applies  to  every  sin-infected  human  being  since 
the  time  of  Adam.  It  applies,  therefore,  to  you  and  to  me  today. 
This  word  of  God  contains  a  truth  which  is  not  always  easy  to 


44  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

realize.  We  find  this  'Hhou"  hard  to  apprehend.  "Thou  shalt 
die  and  not  live."  I  look  upon  some  pale,  hollow-cheeked  invalid 
and  I  can  easily  believe  that  he  must  die.  I  see  some  tottering 
old  man,  or  some  puny,  delicate  child,  and  I  can  readily  under- 
stand that  they  may  not  live.  But  the  fact  that  my  heart  beats 
must  cease — that  my  eyelids  must  close  in  death — that  I  shall  die 
and  not  live — this  is  hard  indeed  for  us  to  realize.  You  can  apply 
it  to  others,  but  to  apply  it  to  yourself,  that  is  the  difficulty.  Yet 
when  you  think  soberly  and  seriously  you  find  it  a  truth  which 
you  cannot  deny.  It  is  an  argument  which  you  cannot  answer. 
Thou  shalt  die  and  not  live. 

We  have  here  also,  in  our  Lord's  argument,  a  truth  which  is 
not  pleasant  to  contemplate.  To  most  men  the  thought  of  death  is 
dreadful.  We  naturally  shrink  from  it.  The  grave  is  repulsive  to 
us.  If  we  could,  we  would  banish  from  our  minds  every  thought 
of  dying  and  of  being  buried.  Particularly  to  men  who  are  not 
Christians,  are  thoughts  of  death  unwelcome.  When  worldly 
men  and  women  are  in  some  manner  forced  to  think  of  their  latter 
end,  they  often  plunge  into  gaiety  and  into  dissipation  in  order 
that  they  may  forget  the  horror  which  such  thoughts  excite  in 
them.  But  such  a  course  is  extremely  foolish.  When  a  wise  man 
is  overtaken  by  a  storm,  he  will  seek  shelter ;  only  a  fool  will  try 
to  forget  the  storm's  approach.  Whether  w^e  relish  it  or  not,  my 
friends,  it  is  a  wholesome  thing  to  face  the  truth,  that  "It  is 
appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the  judgment." 
"Thou  shalt  die  and  not  live." 

But  even  when  we  admit  that  our  Lord's  word  is  true,  and  his 
argument  unanswerable,  we  often  try  to  console  ourselves  with 
the  thought  that  our  death  is  a  thing  of  the  far  distant  future. 
Young  men  and  women  are  prone  to  imagine  that  their  present 
health  and  strength  render  them  immune  from  death.  But,  my 
friends,  this  very  occasion  affords  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
truth  that  there  is  no  age  and  no  condition  of  health  which  is 


THUS   SAITH   THE    LORD  45 

proof  against  death's  summons.  Until  quite  recently,  this  young 
man  seemed  to  be  in  perfect  health.  A  week  ago  he  seemed  no 
nearer  death  than  any  of  us  here  present  at  his  funeral.  From 
life  to  death  is  indeed  a  short  step,  and  God  may  call  upon  us  to 
take  that  step  at  any  time.  This  year,  this  week,  this  very  day, 
God's  grim  messenger  may  come  to  you  or  to  me. 

And  now,  in  conclusion,  a  question — a  vitally,  important 
question — if  the  death  angel  should  come  soon,  if  he  were  to 
knock  today  at  your  door,  would  he  find  your  house  in  order? 
Would  he  find  you  trusting  in  the  crucified  Son  of  God?  Would 
you  go  before  God's  judgment  throne  trembling  in  the  guilt  of 
unpardoned  sins?  Or  would  you  go  boldly  in  the  calm  confidence 
that  your  iniquities  are  blotted  out  in  the  blood  of  Jesus?  This  is 
the  first  time  that  I  have  ever  addressed  most  of  you,  and  in  the 
providence  of  God  it  may  be  the  last  time.  I,  therefore,  ask  you 
in  all  earnestness  to  take  these  questions  to  heart,  and  I  pray  the 
Holy  Spirit  may  give  you  no  peace,  until  you  have  answered 
them  to  the  satisfaction  of  your  soul  and  of  your  God.  The  Lord 
has  given  you  the  Bible  to  point  out  the  way.  He  has  established 
his  church  to  instruct  and  to  assist  you  on  the  way.  And  now  he 
calls  upon  you,  he  pleads  with  you,  ''Set  thine  house  in  order; 
for  thou  shalt  die  and  not  live."   Amen. 


OUR   CONVERSATION 
By  Rev.  S.  P.  Long,  D.  D. 

"Go  to  now,  ye  that  say,  Today  or  tomorrow  we  will  go  into  such  a 
city,  and  continue  there  a  year,  and  huy  and  sell,  and  get  gain:  whereas  ye 
know  not  what  shall  he  on  the  morrow.  Tor  what  is  your  life?  It  is  even  a 
vapor,  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away.  For  that 
ye  ought  to  say,  If  the  Lord  will,  we  shall  live,  and  do  this,  or  that." — 
James  4:  13-15. 

Occasion:  Sudden  accidental  death  of  a  husband  and  father 
while  working 

Beloved  Mourners  and  Friends: 

Little  did  any  of  you  suppose  the  other  morning  when  this 
husband  and  father  left  home  and  expected  soon  to  return  again 
that  he  would  come  back  to  die  so  soon.  You  well  remember  the 
last  words  as  he  went  out  of  the  house.  How  little  you  thought 
that  it  would  be  the  last  conversation  you  would  ever  have  with 
him  on  this  earth  during  this  life;  and  how  you  treasure  those 
words  which  fell  from  his  lips.  I  am  led  to  speak  to  you  a  few 
moments  today  in  the  presence  of  the  dead,  while  I  speak  as  a 
dying  man  to  dying  men,  women  and  children  of 

Our  Conversation 

I  want  to  show  you  what  we  generally  say,  how  little  we 
really  do  know,  and  then  what  we  should  say. 

May  God  bless  this  meditation  and  comfort  us  and  lead  us 
close  to  him  who  holds  our  lives  in  his  hands ! 

What  do  we  generally  say?  James  knew  human  nature  well. 
He  is  the  practical  apostle  and  knew  the  general  drift  of  the 

46 


OUR    CONVERSATION  47 

people's  conversation,  and  he  did  not  like  it.  His  dislike  of  the 
popular  way  of  saying  things  is  expressed  in  the  phrase,  ''Go  to 
now!"  He  meant  just  what  we  Americans  mean  when  we  say: 
"Now  let  up  on  that!"  It  was  a  custom  in  his  day  to  say  where 
they  were  going  and  how  long  they  would  stay  and  how  they 
were  going  to  do  good  business  in  a  way  that  ignored  God  entire- 
ly, and  he  did  not  like  that. 

And  do  we  not  do  the  same  things  today?  Have  you  and  I 
not  said  a  thousand  times:  ''I  am  going  to  such  and  such  a  place 
tomorrow?"  We  seem  to  take  it  for  granted  that  because  we  saw 
the  sun  rise  so  often  we  shall  see  it  rise  till  the  world  comes  to  an 
end.  Some  day  we  will  see  the  sun  rise  the  last  time  in  this  life, 
and  not  one  of  us  knows  that  we  shall  see  tomorrow's  sun.  This 
man  went  away  never  dreaming  that  it  was  his  last  day's  work 
on  earth.   Let  us  not  be  too  sure  where  we  are  going  tomorrow. 

"We  will  go  into  such  a  city,  and  continue  there  a  year." 
"Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes."  We  plan  to  go  away  on  such 
a  day  and  to  stay  just  so  long,  and  we  tell  it  as  if  God  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  our  time.  Many  a  man  has  written:  "One  year 
after  date  I  promise  to  pay  Mr.  So-and-so,  one  hundred  dollars 
for  value  received,"  but  when  the  year  was  up  his  hand  had 
turned  to  dust  and  his  tongue  had  long  since  stopped  counting 
money.  We  must  plan  for  the  future,  and  God  does  not  object 
to  our  plans,  providing  we  submit  our  plans  to  him  for  approval, 
as  I  shall  show  you  hereafter,  but  the  common  conversation  is  all 
wrong  just  because  it  does  not  recognize  God.  We  not  only  plan 
to  go  tomorrow  and  to  return  at  a  given  time,  but  we  talk  as  if 
there  were  no  question  about  our  success  in  business.  "Buy  and 
sell  and  get  gain"  was  the  object  of  all  business  in  the  days  of 
James,  and  that  is  the  motto  today.  Is  it  not  strange  that  people 
think  of  nothing  but  gain  today  when  it  is  plain  history  that 
over  ninety  per  cent,  of  all  business  men  fail?  The  big  "I" 
without  God  is  one  of  the  false  gods  of  the  day.    What  is  our 


48 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


daily  conversation?  I  will  go  tomorrow.  I  will  return  in  a  year. 
I  will  make  good.  I  shall  come  home  rich.  It  is  people's  own 
fault,  if  they  fail — look  at  me ! 

James  understood  human  nature  and  the  power  of  sin,  and  he 
cries  to  the  churches:  Now  let  up  on  that!  He  recognized,  fur- 
thermore, how  little  we  really  know.  ''Whereas  ye  know  not 
what  shall  be  on  the  morrow.  For  what  is  your  life  ?  It  is  even  a 
vapor,  that  appeareth  for  a  little  time,  and  then  vanish eth  away. ' ' 
What  do  we  really  know  about  the  future,  or  about  life,  or  about 
death? 

It  is  well  for  every  business  to  have  a  day  of  invoice  and 
balancing  of  the  books  and  see  how  the  business  stands.  It  is  well 
for  us  to  stop  and  think  how  much,  or  better,  how  little  we 
actually  know.  How  humble  we  would  all  be,  if  we  could  see 
ourselves  as  the  Lord  sees  us!  With  all  our  wisdom  we  do  not 
know  what  will  happen  tomorrow.  The  next  minute  is  a  stranger 
to  us  till  it  is  the  present.  No  one  in  this  whole  neighborhood 
would  even  have  dreamed  tw^o  minutes  before  it  happened  that 
this  man  w^ould  be  dead  and  buried  this  week.  ''What  is  your 
life?  It  is  even  a  vapor."  But  what  is  a  vapor?  You  say  it  is 
nothing,  and,  therefore,  life  is  nothing.  But  wait !  Let  us  think  a 
little !  We  just  passed  a  train  with  this  funeral,  and  its  tremen- 
dous weight  was  drawn  by  the  ponderous  black  iron  horse,  and 
he  ran  down  the  road  as  if  he  were  playing ;  and  what  was  it  that 
gave  that  horse  such  w^onderful  strength?  Listen!  It  was  vapor! 
Do  you  grasp  that?  Vapor  is  power  of  God  in  action.  What  do  we 
know  about  life?   Very  little! 

And  what  is  death?  The  end  of  life?  Oh,  no!  Life  "vanisheth 
away."  Did  you  ever  see  nothing  vanish  away?  The  apostle 
Paul  has  called  death  in  one  of  his  epistles  an  "exodus" — a  going 
out — a  sailing  out  over  the  sea.  He  himself,  whether  in  the  body, 
or  out  of  the  body,  he  did  not  know,  saw  things  in  the  third 
heaven — things  not  to  be  uttered  on  earth.    What  do  we  know 


OUR    CONVERSATION  49 

about  death?   It  is  enough  to  know  that  the  soul  goes  out  and 
lives  and  never  dies — that  it  is  immortal! 

And  all  this  leads  us  to  a  great  conclusion — what  we  should 
say — ''For  that  ye  ought  to  say,  If  the  Lord  will,  we  shall  live, 
and  do  this,  and  that."  Here,  then,  in  a  nutshell,  is  the  key  to 
correct  conversation.  We  should  speak  of  the  Lord,  of  his  will 
and  of  our  service  to  him.  Notice  the  weight  of  the  one  word 
"ought."  I  once  heard  Joseph  Cook  draw  a  picture  that  I  shall 
never  forget.  He  held  before  the  eyes  of  the  audience  a  great 
balance  and  placed  one  world  after  the  other  on  the  one  end  of  it. 
Star  after  star  he  brought  down  and  united  the  bulk  until  they 
reached  to  heaven,  and  then  he  took  the  little  word,  ''ought," 
and  laid  it  on  the  other  end  of  the  scales,  and  the  mountain  went 
higher,  and  the  ought  came  down.  Never  before  did  I  grasp  the 
tremendous  weight  of  the  word  ought.  May  its  weight  lie  on  us 
from  this  day  forth,  as  we  consider  our  conversation.  Ye  ought 
to  say,  means  that  it  must  be  said,  if  you  want  to  do  your  duty. 
"Was  there  ever  a  greater  subject  for  conversation  than  the  Lord 
himself?  Then  why  do  we  not  speak  of  him?  Why,  0  why,  do  we 
Christians  not  love  to  speak  of  our  dear  Lord  ?  If  he  is  our  Lord, 
then  he  is  our  Master;  and,  if  he  is  our  Master,  then  his  will 
should  be  consulted  in  all  things.  For  him  we  should  live.  Him  we 
should  serve.  What  is  the  difference  where  we  are,  or  what  we 
do,  "this  or  that,"  if  we  are  where  God  wants  us,  and  if  we  are 
doing  what  he  gave  us  to  do  ?  Believe  me,  dear  friends,  I  would 
rather  be  where  God  wants  me  to  be  and  do  what  he  wants  me  to 
do,  and  say  what  he  wants  me  to  say  in  the  darkest  and  loneliest 
spot  on  earth  than  to  occupy  the  throne  of  the  greatest  earthly 
king  against  his  will.  I  say  it  with  a  degree  of  shame  that  as  a 
rule  the  professed  Christian  is  the  biggest  coward  on  earth  when 
it  comes  to  speaking  for  his  Lord.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  the  one 
whom  Providence  has  called  away  so  suddenly  was  not  afraid  nor 
ashamed  to  speak  for  his  Lord  and  of  him.   He  was  a  teacher  in 


50 


FUNERAL   SERMONS 


God's  house  of  God's  Word,  and  delighted  in  his  work  and  con- 
versation. This  should  be  a  great  comfort  to  the  family  and  all 
friends.  In  all  my  ministry  I  have  never  been  at  a  funeral — and 
I  have  preached  over  five  hundred  and  thirty  sermons  in  this 
county  alone — where  anyone  was  glad  that  the  dead  was  not  a 
Christian.  On  the  other  hand,  even  the  careless  rejoice  to  know 
that  the  dead  was  a  child  of  God.  Then  let  me  ask  you  all  here 
and  now  to  give  your  bodies  and  souls  to  Jesus,  and  serve  and 
obey  him  till  death,  that  at  last  he  may  give  you  the  crown  of 
eternal  life.    Amen. 


A   VISION    OF    HEAVEN 

By  Rev.  G.  J.  Troutman. 

"After  this  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could 
number,  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues,  stood  "before 
the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in 
their  hands;  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Salvation  to  our  God 
which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb.  And  all  the  angels  stood 
round  about  the  throne,  and  about  the  elders  and  the  four  beasts,  and  fell 
before  the  throne  on  their  faces,  and  worshipped  God,  saying.  Amen:  Bless- 
ing, and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honor,  and  power,  and 
might,  be  unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen.  And  one  of  the  elders 
answered,  saying  unto  me.  What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white 
robes?  and  whence  come  they?  And  I  said  unto  him.  Sir,  thou  knowest. 
And  he  said  to  me.  These  are  they  which  come  out  of  great  tribulation,  and 
have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
Therefore  are  they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  bim  day  and  night 
in  his  temple:  and  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them. 
They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more;  neither  shall  the  sun 
light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters: 
and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." — Rev.  7:  9-17. 

Occasion :  The  Death  of  a  Good  Church  Member 

Dear  Mourners: 

At  such  a  time  as  this,  the  beautiful  and  impressive  hymn 
which  we  have  sung  is  so  comforting : 

**I*m  but  a  stranger  here, 
Heaven  is  my  home; 
Earth  is  a  desert  drear, 
Heaven  is  my  home. 
Danger  and  sorrow  stand 
Eound  me  on  every  hand; 
Heaven  is  my  fatherland, 
Heaven  is  my  home." 

51 


52 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


How  solacing  to  know  that  earth  is  not  man 's  only  abiding-place ; 
that  ''life  is  not  a  bubble,  cast  upon  the  ocean  of  time,  to  float 
a  few  moments  upon  the  surface,  and  then  sink  into  nothingness 
and  darkness  forever. ' '  We  have  a  home  in  heaven.  Paul  says : 
''Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
him"  (I  Cor.  2:9).  "For  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this 
present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory 
which  shall  be  revealed  in  us"  (Rom.  8:  18).  Our  text  throws 
considerable  light  upon  our  future  home,  and  graphically  portrays 
the  happiness  of  those  who  enter  the  New  Jerusalem. 

God  has,  in  mercy,  lifted  the  curtain  that  separates  earth  and 
heaven,  and  permitted  St.  John  to  behold  the  magnificent  scene 
that  he  describes  in  the  words  of  our  text.  God  help  us  properly 
to  consider  and  vividly  to  view  this  scene  for  our  instruction  and 
comfort. 

St.  John's  Vision  of  Heaven,  as  Portrayed  in  Our  Text 

I.  What  John  saw:  "After  this  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  great  mul- 
titude which  no  man  could  number  of  all  nations,  and  kindreds, 
and  people,  and  tongues,  stood  before  the  throne  and  before  the 
Lamb. ' '  From  these  words  of  the  revelator  it  is  apparent  that  in 
this  glimpse  of  heaven,  which  John  was  permitted  to  behold,  he 
saw  a  great  concourse  of  people,  so  large  that  it  was  impossible 
for  man  to  count  them.  Hence  we  may  conclude,  that  there  are 
thousands  upon  thousands  in  heaven,  enjoying  the  kingdom  of 
glory.  Nor  does  this  contradict  the  statements  of  Christ,  who 
said:  "Many  are  called,  but  few  are  chosen,"  and  that  the  major- 
ity of  mankind  are  on  the  broad  way  that  leads  to  everlasting 
damnation.  We  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that  since  the 
days  of  our  first  parents  there  have  always  been  some  godly 
people  on  the  earth,  who,  when  they  departed  this  life,  joined  the 


A    VISION    OF    HEAVEN  53 

host  of  heaven.  Thus  generation  after  generation  has  contributed 
to  this  number,  until  it  has  grown  to  a  multitude,  which  no  man 
can  count.  This  innumerable  host  of  saints,  which  inhabits  the 
realms  of  glory,  came  from  all  nations  and  kindred  and  people 
and  tongues,  so  that  in  heaven  there  are  people  of  all  nationali- 
ties, races,  colors,  and  conditions.  For,  wherever  the  Gospel  is 
proclaimed,  there  are  always  some  persons  who  receive  the  glad 
tidings  of  our  Savior's  love,  and  thus  enjoy  the  benefits.  These 
God-favoring  men,  women  and  children  of  all  people  and  tongues, 
who  die  in  faith,  enter  the  kingdom  of  glory  and  stand  before  the 
throne,  and  before  the  ''Lamb,  which  hath  taken  away  the  sins  of 
the  world." 

St.  John,  in  this  vision  of  heaven,  furthermore  informs  us,  that 
the  glorified  saints  are  clothed  in  white  robes,  and  have  palms  in 
their  hands.  White  is  an  emblem  of  purity  and  righteousness; 
and  these  persons,  whom  John  saw  standing  before  the  throne  of 
God,  are  pure  and  righteous.  They  were  not  so  by  nature,  but 
grossly  impure  and  unrighteous.  These  persons  were  made  pure 
by  God's  grace,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Savior.  And  in  this 
spotless  dress  they  stand  before  this  great  tribunal,  with  palms 
in  their  hands.  Palms  are  signs  of  peace,  joy  and  victory;  and 
these  glorified  saints  rejoice  over  the  peace  which  has  been  estab- 
lished between  God  and  man,  and  the  victory  that  has  been  won 
over  sin,  death  and  the  devil.  None  of  these  enemies  can  harm 
them  now ;  they  stand  before  the  throne  of  him  who  has  won  the 
victory  for  them,  and  will  be  permitted  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  this 
victory  for  ever  and  ever. 

The  revelator,  moreover,  tells  us,  that  these  saints,  as  they 
stand  before  the  throne,  express  the  intensity  of  their  joy  and 
gratitude  by  praising  God  with  a  loud  voice,  saying:  ''Salvation 
to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  unto  the  Lamb." 
They  attribute  the  glory  of  their  salvation  which  they  are  now 
enjoying  in  a  full  measure  not  unto  themselves  but  unto  God,  who 


54  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

is  the  Author  of  salvation,  and  unto  the  Lamb  as  the  Mediator. 
The  angels  also  ''stood  round  about  the  throne,  and  about  the 
elders  and  the  four  beasts,  and  fell  before  the  throne  on  their 
faces,  and  worshipped  God."  They  acknowledged  the  glorious 
attributes  of  God  by  ''saying  Amen:  Blessing,  and  glory,  and 
wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honor,  and  power,  and  might,  be 
unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen."  The  angels  that  never 
sinned  thus  declare  the  divine  perfection  of  God.  In  heaven  a 
perfect  harmony  exists  between  angels  and  saints.  Together  they 
acknowledge,  in  songs  of  adoration  and  praise,  the  glorious  be- 
ing and  work  of  the  almighty  God.  A  certain  writer  has  said: 
"We  thus  see  what  is  the  work  of  heaven,  and  we  ought  to  begin 
it  now,  to  get  our  hearts  tuned  for  it,  to  be  much  in  it,  and  to 
long  for  that  world  where  our  praises  as  well  as  our  happiness 
will  be  perfected."  We  hope  the  beloved  one,  who  has  departed 
this  life,  is  in  this  company  of  heaven.  This  glory,  described  by 
the  holy  writer,  awaits  you  and  me.  We,  too,  if  faithful  unto 
death,  will  stand  among  that  innumerable  multitude,  dressed  in 
robes  of  spotless  purity,  waving  palms  of  peace  and  victory.  We, 
too,  may  join  the  angels  and  saints  before  the  great  white  throne, 
and  unite  in  singing  songs  of  praise  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that 
hath  taken  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 

II.  What  one  of  the  elders  said :  One  of  the  elders,  that  is  one 
of  the  representatives  of  the  triumphant  church,  asked  St.  John  a 
question:  "What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes?  and 
whence  come  they  ? ' '  This  inquiry  was  made  by  the  elder,  not  for 
his  own  information  but  in  all  probability  for  John's  and  our 
instruction.  For  the  lowest  saint  in  heaven  knows  more  than  the 
wisest  man  in  the  world.  John  does  not  say  that  he  cannot  answer 
the  question.  He  no  doubt  could  have  done  so,  but  he  knew  that 
the  elder  was  able  to  give  a  better  and  correct  reply.  So  he 
answers:  "Sir,  thou  knowest."  And  the  elder  said  unto  the 
revelator:  "These  are  they  which  came  out  of  great  tribulation, 


A    VISION    OF    HEAVEN  55 

and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb."  Thus  we  notice  that  the  persons  who  are  enjoying 
the  glory  of  heaven  are  not  individuals  who  had  an  excellent 
time  here  on  earth,  whose  earthly  existence  was  one  long  holiday, 
but  persons  who  have  gone  through  many  trials  and  tribulations. 
The  poet  expresses  it  thus: 

"Seems  it  in  my  anguish  lone, 
As  though  God  forsook  his  own, 
Yet  I  hold  this  knowledge  fast, 
God  will  surely  help  at  last. 

*  ^  Earth  may  all  her  gifts  deny, 
Safe  my  treasure  is  on  high; 
And  if  heaven  at  last  be  mine 
All  things  else  I  can  resign." 

The  elder  also  informs  us  how  the  robes  of  the  glorified  saints 
become  so  beautiful  and  white.  The  robes  were  made  white  by  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb,  and  not  by  the  individual  efforts  of  the  saints. 
''It  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  that  cleanseth 
from  all  sin." 

*' Jesus,  thy  blood  and  righteousness 
My  beauty  are,  my  glorious  dress; 
Midst  flaming  worlds,  in   these   arrayed, 
With  joy  shall  I  lift  up  my  head. 

**This  spotless  robe  the  same  appears 
When  ruined  nature  sinks  in  years; 
No  age  can  change  its  glorious  hue, 
The  robe  of  Christ  is  ever  new." 

The  elder  informs  the  seer  that  these  justified,  sanctified  and 
glorified  persons  are,  on  that  account,  "before  the  throne  of  God, 
and  serve  him  day  SLn,d  night  in  his  temple :  and  he  that  sitteth 
on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them."  They  are  happy  in  their 
station  and  employment,  for  they  serve  God  continually.    And 


56  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

God  dwelleth  among  them  and  shall  be  their  constant  shelter, 
defence,  and  joy.  There  ''they  see  him  face  to  face  and  sing  the 
song  redeemed  by  grace." 

Moreover,  the  saints  in  heaven  are  free  from  all  care.  Every 
want  is  amply  supplied.  "They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither 
thirst  any  more ;  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any 
heat."  Heaven  is  a  place  where  there  are  no  aches  or  pains,  no 
trials  or  tribulations,  no  sickness  or  death,  no  funerals  and  no 
mourners.  "For  the  Lamb  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them 
unto  living  fountains  of  waters:  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes. ' '  They  are  in  possession  of  everything  that 
is  pleasant,  and  are  delivered  from  all  sorrow  and  causes  of 
sorrow.  God  himself  wipes  away  the  tears  and  they  shall  return 
no  more  forever.  Dear  mourners:  It  is  such  a  home  as  this,  we 
hope,  our  departed  one  has  entered.  Surely  we  would  not  wish 
him  back  in  this  cold  and  sinful  world.  Let  us  rather  prepare  to 
go  where  we  believe  he  is.  Let  us  so  believe,  live  and  die,  that 
when  we  depart  this  life  we  may  join  the  multitude  who  stand 
about  the  throne,  and  with  the  angels  and  saints  glorify  God 
for  ever  and  ever.   Amen. 


WHO    WILL    ENTER    THE    KINGDOM    OF    HEAVEN? 
By  Rev.  G.  J.  Troutman. 

"Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven:  hut  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven." — Matt.  7:  21. 

Occasion:  Death  of  a  Christian  Man 

Dear  Mourners: 

We  have  assembled  this  afternoon  to  perform  the  last  sad 
rites  over  the  remains  of  the  departed  brother.  Naturally,  on 
such  an  occasion  as  this,  as  at  no  other  time,  serious  thoughts 
pass  through  our  minds.  We  are  forcibly  reminded  of  the  indis- 
putable fact  that  man  is  mortal.  Sooner  or  later,  the  grim  reaper, 
Death,  will  knock  at  our  door,  and  v^e  must  obey  the  summons. 
Thus  at  such  a  time  as  this,  we  think  of  that  eternity  toward 
which  we  are  tending.  This  afternoon  we  will  lay  the  lifeless 
body  of  the  beloved  one  in  the  grave,  to  wait  the  glorious  resur- 
rection morn;  but  the  soul,  we  hope,  is  with  God  in  heaven.  But 
it  is  a  grave  mistake  to  suppose  that  death  is  always  the  vestibule 
to  heaven.  Let  us,  for  our  instruction,  admonition  and  comfort, 
consider  the  subject: 

Who  Will  Enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven? 

I.  Not  every  one.  ''Not  every  one,"  as  the  devil  would  have  us 
believe.  If  Satan  cannot  succeed  in  making  an  unbeliever  of  a 
person,  he  will  attempt,  and  often  succeeds,  in  alluring  him  into 
a  condition  of  false  security,  regarding  the  soul's  salvation.  It  is 
exceedingly  gratifying  to  this  arch-enemy  of  God  and  man,  if  he 

57 


58 


FUNERAL   SERMONS 


can  make  a  person  believe  that  life  need  not  be  taken  so  seriously ; 
that  it  matters  little  what  a  person  believes,  or  does  not  believe ; 
what  he  does,  or  fails  to  do ;  he  will,  notwithstanding,  enter  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  Satan,  in  this  manner,  succeeds  in  rocking 
many  a  conscience  asleep,  while  he  drags  the  soul  to  hell.  That 
many  have,  and  are,  being  thus  deceived,  is  apparent  to  the 
Christian  observer.  "Not  every  one,"  as  the  Universalists  teach, 
will  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  One  would  suppose  that  this 
so-called  church,  with  its  doctrine  of  universal  salvation,  would 
have  many  adherents,  and  be  an  exceedingly  popular  church. 
This  tenet  ought  to  be  very  acceptable  to  fallen  man.  But  such  is 
not  the  case.  People  are  wise  enough  to  conclude  that  if  every- 
body will  finally  be  saved,  then  there  is  little  if  any  use  for  the 
church.  Universalists  tell  us  all  are  chosen.  Christ  declares: 
"Many  are  called  but  few  are  chosen."  Universalists  would  have 
us  believe  that  the  gate  is  so  wide,  and  the  way  so  broad,  that 
leads  to  heaven,  that  all  will  enter.  Our  Saviour  says:  "Enter  ye 
in  at  the  strait  gate — because  strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the 
way,  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it." 
Universalists  teach  that  none  will  be  condemned,  all  will  be 
saved.  Christ  declares:  "He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall 
be  saved;  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned,"  We  Christians 
accept  the  statements  of  our  Savior  Jesus  Christ,  and  hold  fast 
to  them,  whether  they  be  acceptable  to  flesh  and  blood  or  not. 

"Not  every  one"  will  be  saved  even  if  this  be  the  prevailing 
opinion  of  many.  A  careful  observer  cannot  fail  to  notice  that 
there  are  many  people  who  are  not  Universalists,  yet,  when  they 
hear  that  a  person  has  departed  this  life,  take  it  for  granted  that 
the  individual  has  gone  to  heaven.  In  fact,  these  persons  are 
astonished,  and  very  often  angered,  should  anyone  express  a 
doubt  regarding  the  salvation  of  the  departed  one.  "Who  cannot 
recall  instances  of  persons  departing  this  life,  without  having 
been  baptized,  or  making  confession  of  Christ;  who  have  never 


WHO  WILL  ENTER  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN?        59 

been  known  to  read  the  Bible,  or  attend  divine  service,  except  on 
funeral  occasions  when  practically  compelled  to  attend.  Yet, 
notwithstanding  this  deplorable  condition,  when  such  persons 
die,  there  are  always  some  who  pronounce  them  blessed,  and 
speak  of  them  as  being  in  heaven.  They  request  that  ''Asleep  in 
Jesus!  Blessed  Sleep,"  be  sung  at  the  funeral,  the  inconsistency 
of  which  everybody  must  feel.  We  Christians  should  disapprove 
of  such  travesty,  and  impress  on  these  misguided  people  that  only 
those  are  blessed  "that  die  in  the  Lord." 

' '  Not  every  one ' '  that  has  a  religion  will  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  There  are  ever  so  many  religions  taught  on  this  sinful 
earth.  Who  can  begin  to  enumerate  all  of  them?  And  some 
people  have  permitted  Satan  to  delude  them  into  believing  that 
all  that  is  necessary  in  order  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  a  religion ;  and  it  is  immaterial  what  kind  of  a  religion  one  con- 
fesses. They  say :  One  religion  is  just  about  as  good  as  another.  All 
you  need  do  to  be  saved  is  to  live  in  conformity  with  the  confes- 
sion you  profess,  the  Jew  to  Judaism;  the  Mohammedan  to 
Mohammedanism;  the  Christian  to  Christianity;  the  Moralist  to 
Moralism,  etc.  True  believers  will  not  permit  themselves  to  be 
entrapped  in  such  snares.  They  know  that  there  is  only  one 
saving  religion,  and  that  is  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  "I  am 
the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father 
but  by  me,"  saith  Christ.  "Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any 
other:  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  No,  dear  mourners,  the 
Scriptures  plainly  teach  that  "not  every  one"  will  be  saved;  let 
us  hold  fast  to  the  Scriptures. 

II.  Not  every  one  that  calls  upon  the  Lard:  Our  text  plainly 
states :  "Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me.  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Or,  in  other  words,  not  every  indi- 
vidual that  outwardly  confesses  Christ  will  be  saved.  That  Christ 
desires  us  to  make  a   confession,   and  to  make  it  publicly,   is 


go  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

apparent  from  his  own  words:  "Whosoever  therefore  shall  con- 
fess me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  confess  before  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.  But  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men, 
him  will  I  also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven" 
(Matt.  10:  31-33).  This  statement  of  our  Lord  is  certainly  ex- 
plicit. He  wants  us  to  acknowledge  him  before  men.  We  do  this 
when  we  unite  with  the  Christian  Church,  attend  services  regu- 
larly, participate  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  in  word  and  deed 
manifest  a  truly  Christian  spirit. 

Our  text  clearly  proves  that  a  formal  confession  will  not  save. 
A  mere  lip  service  is  not  sufficient  to  entitle  a  person  to  a  place 
in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  "Not  every  one  that  saith,  Lord, 
Lord,  will  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  The  mere  fact  that 
a  person  habitually  goes  to  church  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  talks 
about  God,  and  calls  upon  the  Lord,  does  not  prove  with  absolute 
certainty  that  such  a  person  is  a  Christian.  He  may  do  all  this 
from  habit,  or  because  he  sees  that  it  pays  from  a  financial  view- 
point, or  that  it  gives  him  a  standing  in  the  community  which  he 
could  not  otherwise  obtain.  These  and  various  other  reasons,  too 
numerous  to  mention,  may  be  instrumental  in  causing  an  indi- 
vidual to  say.  Lord,  Lord,  while  his  heart  is  far  from  God.  That 
there  are  insincere  persons  in  the  church  needs  no  proof.  That 
there  are  hypocrites  among  professed  Christians,  must  not  sur- 
prise anyone.  Christ  has  told  us  that  there  are  such.  .A  hypocrite 
may  succeed  in  deceiving  the  world,  but  he  cannot  deceive  Christ. 
"Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me.  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

Not  all  that  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  will  be  saved, 
because  they  do  not  remain  faithful  until  death.  Is  it  not  to  be 
deplored  that  there  are  so  many  who  have  at  one  time  or  another 
made  a  good  confession  before  God  and  many  witnesses,  but  later 
have  fallen  by  the  wayside  ?  Oh,  how  sad  that  a  person  who  was 
once  a  child  of  God  should  turn  back  to  the  world!    Yet,  their 


WHO  WILL  ENTER  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN?        Ql 

number  is  legion.  The  fact  that  a  person  has  once  been  baptized, 
confirmed  and  been  a  faithful  member  of  a  church,  will  not  insure 
salvation.  He  must  be  faithful  to  the  end.  *'Be  thou  faithful 
unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life"  (Rev.  2:  10). 
Who  does  not  realize  the  need  of  our  Savior's  warning:  "Watch 
ye  and  pray,  lest  ye  enter  into  temptation.  The  spirit  truly  is 
ready,  but  the  flesh  is  weak"  (Mark  14:  38)?  No,  not  all  those 
who  have  called  upon  the  Lord  will  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
for  some  are  insincere,  and  others  do  not  remain  faithful  unto 
death.  Is  not  this  an  earnest  warning  for  us  to  guard  ourselves 
lest  our  praying,  singing,  reading,  and  church-going  be  mere 
formalism?  May  we  be  numbered  among  those  who  worship  God 
in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

III.  He  that  doeth  the  will  af  the  Father:  The  words  of  our 
text  make  it  plain  who  will  be  saved.  ''He  that  doeth  the  will  of 
my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  Is  not  this  explicit?  The  person 
that  does  the  will  of  God  the  Father  can  be  absolutely  certain 
of  entering  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Where  do  we  find  the  will  of 
God  ?  We  answer :  In  the  Bible.  In  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testament,  God  our  heavenly  Father  has  revealed  his  will 
unto  us.  "For  the  prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of 
man:  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost."  All  that  is  necessary  for  man  to  know  in  order  to 
attain  eternal  life  has  been  revealed  to  us  in  this  blessed  book 
which  we  call  the  Bible.  No  wonder  it  is  highly  prized  by  God's 
children. 

It  is  the  will  of  the  Father,  that  we  make  the  proper  use  of  the 
Scriptures.  If  we  search  them  diligently  we  will  find  that  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is  our  only  Savior,  and  that  there  is 
absolutely  no  hope  of  salvation  except  in  his  name  and  through 
his  mercies.  "For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life."   It  will  become  apparent  that  those 


g2  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

who  depend  upon  their  own  righteousness  to  bring  them  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  will  utterly  fail;  for  the  only  righteousness 
that  avails  before  the  throne  of  God  is  the  perfect  righteousness 
of  Christ  which  is  appropriated  through  faith  and  assures  us  of 
the  blessedness  of  heaven.  It  is  the  will  of  the  Father  that  we 
make  the  proper  use  of  the  means  of  grace,  the  "Word  and  sacra- 
ments, which  our  Savior  has  instituted  to  prepare  the  soul  for 
the  eternal  kingdom.  It  is  the  will  of  the  Father  that  man  unite 
with  the  church  which  the  Lord  has  established  for  the  purpose 
of  promulgating  the  wonderful  Gospel  of  salvation  among  men. 
It  is  the  will  of  the  Father  that  we  take  Christ  as  our  example  and 
let  our  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see  our  good 
works,  and  glorify  our  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  It  is  the  will 
of  the  Father  that  we  believe  and  live  in  such  a  manner  that 
when  the  hour  of  death  comes  we  may  say  with  Paul:  ^'I  am 
now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand. 
I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have 
kept  the  faith:  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me 
at  that  day :  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love 
his  appearing."  That  person  will  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  that  doeth  the  will  of  the  Father,  and  this  will  is  found  in 
the  Scriptures. 

Dear  mourners :  Our  comfort  on  this  sad  occasion  is  not  based 
on  man's  opinion,  or  sentimentality,  or  good  works,  but  upon 
the  infallible  word  of  God.  Our  departed  brother  did  the  will  of 
God,  although  in  great  weakness.  He  was  baptized  in  infancy, 
and  thus  became  a  child  of  God.  In  confirmation  he  publicly 
ratified  the  covenant  vow,  and  confessed  Christ  before  many  wit- 
nesses. He  not  only  attended  divine  services,  but  took  an  active 
interest  in  that  institution  which  the  Lord  established.  The 
departed  one  was  not  sinless ;  by  no  means.  This  he  acknowledged 
by  attending  confessional  services,  and  on  his  knees  confessing 


WHO  WILL  ENTER  THE  KINGDOM  OF  HEAVEN?        53 

his  sins  before  God  and  man,  and  partaking  of  that  sacrament, 
the  Lord's  Supper,  which  was  ordained  to  bring  pardon  to  the 
guilty  soul  and  give  life  and  salvation.  These  are  some  of  the 
reasons  why  we  believe  that  our  brother  is  with  God  in  heaven. 
God  give  us  grace  to  do  the  will  of  the  Father,  so  that  when  we 
depart  this  life  we  may  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

"Now  lay  we  calmly  in  the  grave, 
This  form,  whereof  no  doubt  we  have 
That  it  shall  rise  again  that  day, 
In  glorious  triumph  o'er  decay." 

Amen. 


THE  PATH  OF  LIFE 
By  Rev.  W.  R.  Walter 

"Thou  wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life:  in  thy  presence  is  fulness  of 
joy;  at  thy  right  hand  there  are  pleasures  f orevermore. " — Ps.  16:  11. 

Occasion :  For  Middle- Aged  Church  Member 

Dear  Mourning  Friends: 
Well  has  the  poet  said : 

**Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest, 
And  the  grave  is  not  its  goal. 
Dust  thou  art,  to  dust  returnest, 
Was  not  spoken  of  the  soul.'' 

It  is  the  wise  design  of  God  that  the  soul  of  man  shall  be 
perpetuated  after  physical  death.  The  soul  is  spirit  and  created 
indestructible.  Consciousness  of  the  human  soul  shall  continue 
forevermore.  That  consciousness  shall  be  either  in  the  heirship 
of  heaven  or  in  the  realm  of  deserved  doom  eternal.  It  is  of  the 
future  life  that  dying  mortals  inquire.  Job  asks:  "If  a  man  die, 
shall  he  live  again?"  Scripture  replies  in  the  affirmative:  ''Some 
to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt." 

The  future  happiness,  or  future  woe  of  the  soul  is  determined 
by  the  way — the  path — that  the  soul  follows  as  it  passes  through 
life  and  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  There  are  many 
roads  in  this  life  that  lead  to  eternity's  brink,  but  there  is 
only  one  road  that  leads  to  eternal  happiness  and  joy;  all 
the  other  ways  lead  to  destruction.  Let  us  heed  the  Master's 
admonition:  ''Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate:  for  wide  is  the  gate, 
and  broad  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  there 

64 


THE    PATH   OP    LIFE  65 

be  that  go  in  thereat ;  because  strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the 
way  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it." 
It  is  of  this  narrow  way  that  our  text  speaks. 

The  Path  of  Life 

May  God  grant  us  believing  hearts  and  understanding  minds 
while  we  consider  for  our  comfort  and  edification: 

1.  The  Path. 

2.  Its  Destination. 

The  blessed  Master  has  not  left  us  without  comfort.  The  words 
he  spake  unto  the  disciples  long  years  ago  are  living  words  for  us 
today.  Their  hearts  were  sad  when  he  told  them  of  his  departure 
from  this  world,  but  he  comforted  them,  saying:  ''Let  not  your 
hearts  be  troubled;  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me.  In  my 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions;  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would 
have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  and 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto 
myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also.  And  whither  I 
go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know.  Thomas  saith  unto  the  Lord, 
We  know  not  whither  thou  goest;  and  how  can  we  know  the 
way?  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the 
life :  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me. ' '  These  words 
of  Jesus  are  an  excellent  sermon  on  our  text.  They  tell  us  clearly 
of  the  path,  that  is  both  the  truth  and  the  life,  the  only  way  unto 
the  mansions  in  the  Father's  house. 

There  is  salvation  in  none  other  name  given  under  heaven 
whereby  we  can  be  saved  but  by  the  precious  name  of  Jesus. 
Christ  is  the  only  way  for  the  dying  sinner,  as  the  open  portal 
unto  grace,  pardon  and  life  eternal.  We  are  either  saved  alone 
and  totally  in  Christ  by  faith,  or  we  are  not  saved  at  all.  Chris- 
tians everywhere  are  saved  only  in  this  way.   There  must  be  no 


QQ  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

deviation  from  the  path.    It  must  be  Jesus,  only  Jesus,  in  our 
faith,  in  our  confession,  in  our  life. 

We  do  not  find  that  path  by  our  natural  powers.  All  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  the  world  are  not  sufficient  to  guide  us 
to  the  path  of  life.  The  words  here  say:  "Thou,"  referring  to 
God,  "wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life."  "I  cannot  by  my  own 
reason  or  strength  believe  on  Jesus  Christ,  my  Lord,  or  come  to 
him,  but  the  Holy  Ghost  has  called  me  through  the  Gospel  and 
enlightened  me  with  his  gifts,"  is  what  we  Christians  must 
confess.  Unless  God  shows  us  the  way,  and  guides  and  preserves 
us  in  the  way  until  our  journey  is  ended,  we  shall  never  reach  the 
home  of  the  blessed.  But  the  promise  to  believers  is:  "The  meek 
will  he  guide  in  judgment;  and  the  meek  will  he  teach  in  his 
way,"  and  "When  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide 
you  into  all  truth."  Jesus  comforts  us  in  trials  and  sorrows,  and 
temptations  with  the  assurance:  "I  will  never  leave  thee  nor 
forsake  thee,"  and  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world. "  He  is  with  us  to  guide  and  keep  us  in  the  narrow 
path  by  the  leading  of  the  Spirit.  Hence  we  sing : 

''Jesus,  be  our  guide, 
As  through  life  we  glide; 
Faithfully  in  our  behavior 
May  we  follow  thee,  dear  Saviour, 
Lead  us  by  the  hand 
Through  to  Fatherland." 

God  shows  us  the  path  of  life  clearly.  He  does  not  leave  us  to 
our  naturally  blinded  instincts  and  reason,  nor  to  our  faulty 
intellects  and  emotions,  but  points  out  the  way  in  his  infallible 
Word  which  is  Spirit  and  life.  It  is  that  Word  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  employs  to  work  faith  in  our  hearts  and  to  guide  us  into  all 
truth  and  keep  us  steadfast  in  hope  and  faith  to  make  our  salva- 
tion sure. 


THE    PATH   OF   LIFE  67 

The  Psalmist  here  says :  ''Thou  wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life." 
0  what  comfort!  Jesus  knows  every  individual  member  of  his 
flock.  Jesus  knows  you.  Jesus  knows  me.  Jesus  is  our  way,  our 
truth,  our  life,  and  with  Paul  we  can  therefore  cheerfully  profess : 
''For  me  to  live  is  Christ."  Such  was  the  profession  of  our 
departed  sister.  From  her  confession  and  daily  walk  we  conclude 
that  her  profession  was  prompted  by  living  faith  in  Christ,  and  in 
him  she  had  found  the  path  of  life. 

And  now  as  we  consider  the  destination  of  the  path,  our  text 
responds:  "In  thy  presence."  Into  the  presence  of  our  Redeemer. 
The  Christian  is  an  alien  and  a  stranger  here,  a  wanderer,  a 
pilgrim  on  his  journey,  homeward  bound  to  his  Father's  house, 
the  home  in  heaven.  "For  here  we  have  no  continuing  city,  but 
we  seek  one  to  come,"  exclaims  Paul.  Here  in  this  life  there  is 
but  little  real  joy,  and  that  joy  is  mixed  with  alloy  of  sorrow  and 
disappointments,  as  St.  Austin  says:  "A  drop  of  joy  in  an  ocean 
of  sorrow. ' '  Yesterday  merriment  filled  the  heart  with  laughter ; 
today  come  sorrow  and  tearful  lamentations.  Yesterday  had 
its  hopes  and  glad  anticipations;  today  those  hopes  are  crushed 
to  the  earth.  Yesterday  ambition  held  sway  in  the  soul;  today 
finds  the  ruin  of  human  plans.  Yesterday  parents'  hearts  were 
teeming  with  joy;  today  there  is  weeping  and  sobs  for  a  lit- 
tle white  coffin  has  been  carried  into  the  home.  Yesterday 
a  family  circle  was  complete ;  today  it  is  broken ;  for  the  wife 's 
and  mother's  place  is  vacant.  Will  there  never  be  cessation  to 
these  trying  ordeals,  these  sorrows,  these  tears,  these  partings, 
these  death-bed  scenes  ?  Oh,  yes,  in  the  presence  of  God  in  heaven ! 
There  sorrows  cannot  enter,  there  sin  can  never  come,  there  death 
will  never  be  known,  for  the  Christian  will  be  at  home.  Farewells 
and  good-byes  are  of  earth;  in  heaven  partings  are  unknown. 
John  writes:  "There  shall  be  no  night  there.  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes."  No  darkness,  no  sorrows,  no 
tears  there!  How  can  there  be  when  the  Word  here  tells  us:  "In 


gg  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy."  Fulness  of  joy  is  there;  not  that 
it  has  been  there,  or  shall  be  there,  but  is  eternally  present  there. 
Joy  is  ready  and  awaits  the  pilgrim's  home-coming'.  It  has  been 
prepared  by  Christ;  wrought  by  his  works  as  our  mediator,  pur- 
chased by  his  blood  as  our  Redeemer. 

New  pleasures  await  us  at  the  home-coming,  as  the  Word  here 
says:  ''At  thy  right  hand  there  are  pleasures  evermore."  We  do 
not  understand  the  blessings  promised  us,  and  even  were  God  to 
tell  us  in  plain  words  all  the  happiness  and  the  glories  of  the 
saints  above  we  could  not  comprehend  them,  "As  it  is  written, 
eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him."  The  joys  of  heaven  never  fade,  never  wither,  never 
die,  nor  ever  are  they  lessened  or  interrupted.  The  joys  of  the 
saints  in  glory  are  never  ebbing,  but,  like  the  incoming  tide  of 
the  ocean,  Jflow  to  a  fulness  of  measure  and  contentment :  for  the 
blessed  are  forever  with  the  Lord  where  "there  is  fulness  of 
joy."  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  tried  and  suffering  Christian  is  so 
often  homesick  and  longs  for  the  heavenly  rest.  Yet  great  as  the 
Christian's  anticipations  may  be  here,  he  cannot  form  the  slightest 
idea  of  eternal  bliss,  but  he  tunes  his  heart  to  that  beautiful  hymn 
by  De  Morlai: 

** Jerusalem  the  golden! 

With  milk  and  honey  blessed, 
Beneath  thy  contemplation 
Sink  heart  and  voice  opprest. 
f  I  know  not,  O,  I  know  not 

What  joys  await  us  there, 
What  radiancy  of  glory. 
What  bliss  beyond  compare!'* 

Dear  bereaved  Friends :  In  the  presence  of  God  there  is  fulness 
of  joy;  at  his  right  hand  there  are  pleasures  evermore.  There  is 
comfort  for  you  in  these  words.   We  confidently  believe  that  the 


THE    PATH   OF   LIFE  69 

wife,  the  mother,  the  sister,  the  friend  for  whom  we  mourn  today 
has  entered  into  that  joy  of  the  Lord  which  has  no  end.  A  Chris- 
tian's farewell  to  those  dear  ones  who  die  in  the  Lord  has  the 
true  meaning  of  Good-bye — "God  be  with  you" — and  include 
those  impressive  w^ords  of  the  German  at  parting:  ''Auf  Wieder- 
sehen,"  which  means,  ''We  hope  to  meet  again."  Would  we  meet 
again,  in  the  presence  of  God  where  there  is  fulness  of  joy,  and 
pleasures  evermore,  those  dear  saints  who  have  gone  before? 
Then  must  we  follow  in  the  narrow  path,  treading  in  the  footsteps 
of  the  Master.  We  must  resign  ourselves  to  God.  His  Word  must 
be  our  chart  and  guide  so  that  with  Paul  we  may  declare:  ''The 
life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me."  Let  us  make  our 
salvation  sure  by  daily  consecrating  ourselves  anew  unto  God. 
Then  when  the  trials  and  cares  and  afflictions  of  life  beset  us  the 
comfort  will  be  with  us.  When  the  chilling  waters  of  the  river 
of  death  encompass  us,  we  will  be  ready  to  face  the  foe  in  the  last 
battle  and  having  clung  to  Christ  by  faith,  the  victory  will  be 
ours  and  the  crown  of  life  which  Jesus  has  laid  up  for  us,  we 
shall  wear  throughout  eternity  in  that 

''Land  of  pure  delight, 

Where  saints  immortal  dwell, 
Eternal  day  excludes  the  night, 
And  pleasures  banish  pain. ' ' 

Amen. 


FAITHFULNESS    IS    THE    CROWNING    GLORY    OF 
THE  LORD'S  SERVANTS 

By  Rev.  L.  H.  Schuh,  Ph.  D. 

"His  lord  said  unto  him,  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant: 
thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many 
things:    enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." — Matt.  25:  21. 

Occasian:  The  Death  of  a  Pastor 

Brethren  of  the  ministry,  especially  members  of  this  family: 

J F S was  born  in  the  common  walks  of  life.  His 

parents  followed  the  first  and  most  honorable  of  all  earthly  call- 
ings. They  were  farmers.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  farm  work 
and  he  developed  a  healthy  body  and  a  firm  character.  But  this 
was  not  to  be  his  life's  work.  The  beneficial  effects  of  his  early 
training  remained  with  him  throughout  life.  He  loved  the  com- 
mon people,  was  not  afraid  of  drudgery  and  could  talk  to  men  in 
the  common  walks  of  life  in  language  and  figures  which  they 
could  understand. 

God  gave  him  his  talents.  He  loved  books.  This  was  a  finger- 
board on  the  road  of  life.  It  was  somewhat  late  in  his  youth,  at 
about  the  age  of  twenty-one,  that  he  took  up  the  preparation  for 
the  Christian  ministry.  But  it  was  not  harmful,  because  he  was 
settled  in  his  disposition,  fixed  in  his  purpose  and  unlike  so  many 
candidates  for  this  office,  he  kept  his  eye  steadily  on  the  goal. 

He  completed  his  work  here  in  eight  years.  He  was  ordained 
to  the  office  and  served  acceptably  in  three  congregations.  During 
the  last  year  he  was  twice  afflicted  in  health — once  seriously  and 
this  last  time  fatally.  The  last  chapter  of  his  life  has  been 
written  by  God  himself.   The  Lord  took  him.   And  as  the  divine 

70 


1 


FAITHFULNESS   THE    CROWNING   GLORY  71 

hand  closed  the  book  of  his  life  never  to  be  opened  in  time,  I  hear 
a  voice  saying:  ''Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant!" 

There  are  many  qualifications  that  both  God  and  man  expect 
in  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  Experience  shows  that  men  require 
more  than  God.  The  duties  of  the  office  extend  over  such  a  wide 
range,  that  there  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  the  gifts  and  accom- 
plishments which  a  pastor  and  preacher  may  use  profitably  in  his 
holy  office.  No  man  has  all  the  gifts  which  could  be  used  and  not 
a  few  incumbents  lack  some  that  are  really  desirable.  This  may 
explain  why  men  are  such  unjust  critics  and  make  such  severe 
demands  upon  their  pastors. 

God  is  more  charitable  and  this  is  a  real  comfort.  True,  even 
he  demands  some  gifts.  He  says  that  ''a  bishop  must  be  apt  to 
teach,"  that  he  must  be  an  example  to  the  flock  and  that  he 
must  rule  well  his  own  house.  Amid  all  the  requirements  which 
both  man  and  God  may  demand  in  a  Gospel  minister,  what  is  the 
crown?  St.  Paul  says:  ''Moreover  it  is  required  in  stewards  that 
a  man  be  found  faithful. ' '  He  refers  that  to  all  stewards  whether 
they  be  set  over  material  or  spiritual  possessions. 

Faithfulness  is  the  Crowning  Glory  of  the  Lord's  Servants 

I.  The  Lord  praises  it:  This  text  is  taken  from  the  parable  of 
the  king  who,  before  going  into  a  far  country,  called  his  servants 
about  him  and  entrusted  unto  them  his  goods.  To  the  one  he 
entrusted  more,  to  the  other  less.  He  said:  "Occupy  (work)  till  I 
come."  At  last  he  came  and  called  them  to  an  account.  He  finds 
one  who  had  five  talents  in  his  keeping  and  he  brings  other  five 
talents  which  he  had  earned,  and  the  king  praised  him.  The  king 
might  have  praised  him  for  his  diligence,  his  wisdom,  his  thrift, 
his  cunning,  his  zeal,  his  forethought.  But  nothing  of  all  that. 
He  says:  "Thou  hast  been  faithful."  This  is  the  crowning  virtue 
and  glory  of  a  servant  to  deny  his  own  will,  and  to  do  that  of 


Y2  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

another,  to  have  an  eye  single  to  one  purpose  and  that  not  of  his 
own  choosing. 

If  the  Lord  praises  faithfulness  in  his  servants,  why  should  not 
I?   I  will. 

Our  brother  was  faithful  to  his  King.  He  understood  his 
relation  to  his  Lord  to  be  that  of  a  servant  to  a  king.  He  was 
content  to  occupy  the  position  of  a  subordinate  and  was  happy  in 
it.  He  was  not  crouching  before  an  earthly  master  and  was  not 
fawning  for  favor.  He  recognized  that  there  was  One  who  was 
his  Maker,  who  formed  him  in  secret,  gave  him  body  and  soul, 
eyes  and  ears  and  all  his  members  and  whose  purpose  was  that 
the  creature  might  glorify  him.  The  ruling  principle  of  his  life 
was  submission  to  his  Master.  His  question  was  this:  "What  is 
the  will  of  my  King?"  And  when  he  recognized  it,  he  bowed  in 
submission.  It  becomes  a  servant  to  know  his  place  and  knowing 
it  he  is  in  a  position  to  be  faithful. 

No  man  reaches  this  standpoint  except  by  the  aid  of  God's 
Spirit.  Human  nature  is  sodden  in  selfishness.  In  fact,  selfishness 
is  the  very  essence  of  sin.  The  human  mind  is  self-centered  and 
there  is  a  real  battle  to  be  fought  out  with  the  Spirit  of  God  before 
a  man  comes  to  this  state  of  submission.  But  when  the  Spirit  has 
won  the  victory  and  there  is  in  the  human  heart  a  new  center,  a 
new  motive,  a  new  life,  what  a  happy  life  it  is ! 

Our  brother  was  faithful  to  his  office.  There  was  committed 
to  him  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  church.  He  was  a  Gospel 
minister.  I  speak  advisedly  when  it  is  called  the  highest  office  in 
the  gift  of  the  church.  There  is  none  higher — none  even  so  high. 
The  world  does  not  place  that  estimate  on  the  office  and  we  need 
not  be  disturbed.  Their  eyes  are  holden.  Their  faces  are  turned 
earthward.  They  have  looked  so  long  and  intently  upon  the  earth 
that  they  have  forgotten  that  which  is  above.  As  much  as  the 
soul  surpasseth  the  body,  by  so  much  does  the  ministry  surpass 
other  callings.    These  are  concerned  about  temporal,  perishable 


FAITHTULNESS    THE    CROWNING   GLORY  73 

things ;  but  the  holy  office  of  the  ministry  is  concerned  about  the 
spiritual,  the  eternal. 

Our  brother  understood  the  very  spirit  and  essence  of  the 
Christian  ministry ;  he  understood  it  to  be  the  office  of  reconcilia- 
tion. No  man  can  be  faithful  until  he  has  absorbed  that  concep- 
tion. Not  until  an  incumbent  of  the  office  has  a  clear  conception 
of  the  nature  and  attributes  of  God  and  of  man  can  he  be 
efficient,  or  faithful  in  the  work.  Our  God  is  holy.  Sin  is  an 
offence  to  him  and  in  his  wrath  he  is  moved  to  temporal  and 
eternal  punishment.  But  he  has  had  mercy  on  the  helpless  sinner 
and  has  sent  Christ  to  reconcile  the  world  unto  himself  and  now 
the  purpose  of  the  Gospel  ministry  is  to  plead  with  men  to  be 
reconciled  with  God. 

What  a  distorted  conception  of  this  office  some  preachers  must 
have !  Judging  by  the  themes  which  are  announced  in  the  daily 
papers,  by  the  projects  which  are  launched  and  directed  by  them, 
by  the  work  which  they  foist  on  congregations  and  by  the  large 
amount  of  time  at  their  disposal  for  amusements  and  relaxation, 
one  is  forced  to  conclude  that  the  temporal  is  more  vital  than  the 
eternal,  that  sin  has  lost  its  damnable  character  and  that  God  is  no 
longer  stretching  out  his  merciful  hands  to  a  dying  world. 

Contrast  with  those  preachers,  this  one.  He  was  willing  to 
discard  human  wisdom  for  the  revelation  of  God.  Sweeter  than  the 
doctrine  of  salvation  by  ethical  culture  and  good  works  was  this  bib- 
lical teaching :  ''Thebloodof  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanses  us  from 
all  sin. ' '  He  rightly  divined  the  Word — the  law  for  the  flesh  and 
the  Gospel  for  the  spi;rit.  He  did  not  belong  to  that  class  of 
preachers  of  whom  an  aged  father  in  Israel  once  said  to  me: 
"Our  pastor  is  such  a  gentle  man.  He  can  tell  a  man  that  he  is  a 
sinner  and  do  it  in  such  a  pleasant  way  that  the  man  pays  no 
attention  to  it."  You  did  not  go  home  feeling  that  hell  was  a 
pleasure  resort  when  you  heard  his  testimony  against  sin.  And 
you  felt  the  comfort  of  the  Gospel  for  repentant  sinners  when  he 


74  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

lifted  up  the  Crucified  One.  In  the  conduct  of  your  congregational 
work  there  was  always  that  fundamental  question :  ' '  What  is  the 
Lord's  will?"  As  one  of  his  parishioners  I  voice  the  sentiment  of 
all  when  I  say  that  he  was  faithful  to  his  office. 

Our  brother  was  faithful  to  his  church.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Church  of  the  Reformation  and  was  such  from  conviction.  He 
was  not  like  some,  in  a  church,  but  out  of  harmony  with  it  and  at 
every  turn  offending  against  its  principles ;  uncomfortable  himself 
and  making  others  so.  He  understood  the  history,  doctrines,  life, 
practices  and  spirit  of  this  church  and  he  stood  by  them.  He  was 
not  sighing  for  greater  liberty,  knowing  that  the  greatest  liberty 
consistent  with  God's  revelation  is  already  ours.  He  was  an 
intelligent,  consistent  Lutheran.  God  raise  up  many  more  such! 
We  need  them  in  our  ranks.  Our  church  is  frequently  misunder- 
stood and  misjudged  and  we  need  men  in  our  pulpits  who  will 
stand  their  ground  and  defend  our  biblical  principles.  We  do  not 
need  men  who  defend  our  principles  and  practices  just  because 
they  are  Lutheran,  but  whose  conviction  is  that  they  are  biblical  I 
Then  our  distinctive  doctrines  will  he  upheld  and  our  church  will 
fulfil  its  mission  in  this  land. 

That  the  departed  was  a  conservative  Lutheran  was  again 
shown  upon  his  deathbed.  He  called  for  the  Holy  Sacrament.  It 
seemed  necessary  to  administer  it  at  once  while  his  mind  was  yet 
clear  and  he  still  had  the  ability  to  examine  himself.  The  ele- 
ments were  prepared  from  the  first  material  at  hand,  common 
bread  alone  being  available  at  the  instant.  But  when  he  saw  that 
table  bread  was  set  out  he  requested  that  hosts  be  procured. 
'"For,"  said  he,  ''on  my  death-bed  I  do  not  wish  to  make  the 
confession  of  indifference  or  of  laxity."  He  was  mindful  of  all 
that  bitter  struggle  through  which  the  church  passed  in  her  con- 
tention for  the  sacrament  and  in  his  dying  hour  he  was  not 
willing  to  appear  in  depreciation  of  her  contention  and  victory. 
That  is  the  true  spirit  to  be  manifested  by  a  Lutheran  pastor. 


FAITHFULNESS   THE    CROWNING   aLORT  75 

That  spirit  did  not  merely  manifest  itself  in  the  eleventh  hour  of 
his  life,  but  was  regnant  throughout  his  official  career. 

Our  brother  was  faithful  to  his  Synod.  He  was  born  and 
reared  in  this  Synod.  He  was  educated  in  her  institutions  and  he 
loved  her  work.  Our  Synod  has  passed  through  many  bitter  bat- 
tles. Her  history  like  that  of  the  church  at  large  has  been  one  of 
conflict  to  maintain  in  its  purity  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints.  She  has  testified  against  unionism,  Calvinism,  lodgery, 
new-measurism  and  a  host  of  isms.  Many  have  fallen  by  the  way. 
Our  brother  never  was  a  champion  or  a  leader  in  our  conflicts, 
but  he  stood.  A  church  does  not  need  a  large  number  of  leaders 
and  standard-bearers.  The  nature  of  things  does  not  require  it. 
But  it  does  need  a  large  number  of  supporters.  He  was  one  upon 
whom  we  could  count  in  every  good  work  and  in  every  righteous 
move. 

n.  The  Lord  rewards  it :  The  king  rewarded  his  faithful  serv- 
ant by  an  advancement  in  service.  He  says:  "Thou  hast  been 
faithful  over  a  few  things.  I  will  make  thee  a  ruler  over  many 
things."  At  first  he  was  a  servant,  but  now  he  was  to  become  a 
ruler.  At  first  there  were  intrusted  to  him  but  a  few  things,  but 
now  he  was  to  have  many  things.  His  reward  came  by  advance- 
ment in  service. 

The  faithful  are  advanced  in  this  life.  To  them  we  give  our 
confidence.  Their  talents  grow  by  use.  In  their  lives  the  saying 
is  fulfilled:  ''To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given."  The  condition 
upon  which  this  is  done  is  that  faithful  use  be  made  of  gifts  and 
opportunities.  Gifts  and  talents  grow  by  use.  Even  in  a  worldly 
sense  God  says  to  such  people:  ''Come  up  higher." 

This  reward  came  to  our  brother.  God  called  him  from  the 
plow  to  the  college;  from  college  to  the  seminary;  from  the 
seminary  to  the  pulpit;  from  a  country  pulpit  to  a  city  pulpit; 
from  a  city  pulpit  to  this  university  pulpit.  All  through  life 
there  was  a  gradual  progression,  a  growing  field  of  usefulness. 


76  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

God  was  making  him  a  ruler  over  many  things.  What  a  sphere 
of  usefulness  was  offered  him  here.  To  help  to  mold  the  character 
and  to  form  the  ideals  of  our  prospective  pastors,  to  pose  uncon- 
sciously as  their  model,  this  it  seems  to  me  is  a  field  of  unusual 
influence.  Though  dead  he  still  speaks  in  the  lives  and  work  of 
other  men. 

God  gave  man  dominion  and  its  exercise  brings  satisfaction  to 
the  human  heart.  The  possession  of  money  and  goods  gives  joy  to 
the  soul  largely  because  it  puts  the  possessor  into  a  position  to 
exercise  dominion.  Why  does  the  scientist  seek  to  wrest  from 
nature  her  secrets?  Because  he  seeks  dominion  over  her!  What 
have  the  wars  of  the  world  been  about?  To  a  great  extent  for 
dominion.  No  man  exercises  dominion  in  a  higher  degree  than 
the  preacher  and  the  prophet.  His  is  a  moral  power.  The  greatest 
satisfaction  that  any  man  derives  from  his  work  is  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  rendered  the  world  an  indispensable  service.  This 
reward  of  faithfulness  our  brother  had. 

But  there  comes  to  a  Christian  a  higher  service  and  reward. 
They  will  be  higher  in  kind  and  in  degree.  As  the  future  life  is 
higher  than  the  present,  its  services  and  rewards  will  be  in  pro- 
portion. This  life  has  limitations.  Here  we  are  held  down  by  the 
weaknesses  and  fetters  of  the  flesh.  Here  sin  holds  sway.  The 
slimy  trail  of  the  old  serpent  is  visible  and  there  is  nothing  so 
fair  but  he  has  befouled  it.  Our  faculties  have  been  dwarfed ;  our 
reason  clouded;  our  will  perverted;  our  affections  warped;  but 
when  we  have  cast  off  this  tenement  of  clay  and  have  been  freed 
from  the  curse  of  sin  and  the  image  of  God  is  once  more  restored 
in  its  fulness,  then  the  Lord  will  have  service  for  us  that  is 
commensurate  with  our  larger  powers. 

That  life  is  not  one  of  idleness.  God  is  ever  active ;  he  never 
slumbers  nor  sleeps.  He  could  not  tolerate  creatures  around  him 
that  do  not  revel  and  delight  in  activity.  See  what  he  is  doing  in 
this  world  and  then  by  analogy  conclude  what  he  must  be  doing 


PAITHFULNESS   THE   CROWNING   GLOBT  77 

there.  If  in  this  lower  form  of  existence  there  is  so  much  to  do  in 
his  service,  how  the  heart  beats  and  the  breast  heaves  in  anticipa- 
tion of  what  is  coming! 

We  do  not  fully  know  wherein  this  higher  service  will  consist, 
but  here  and  there  a  glint  of  light  falls  through  the  curtain  that 
separates  time  from  eternity.  God  in  his  Word  has  drawn  the 
curtain.  A  man  standing  by  a  wall  and  looking  through  a  chink 
may  have  a  view  of  a  whole  field  that  lies  beyond.  That  must 
have  been  St.  Paul's  case  when  he  cries  out  in  exultation:  "Eye 
hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him. ' ' 

The  glory  which  is  peculiar  to  Jesus  as  the  exalted  Son  of 
God,  which  causes  the  hosts  of  heaven  to  bow  down  before  him 
and  worship,  sending  up  their  anthems  echoing  and  re-echoing 
through  the  vaults  of  heaven,  that  glory  the  King  promises  to 
share  with  the  faithful.  In  this  life  we  have  shared  with  him 
battles  and  hardships  and  persecutions;  but  we  will  go  from 
battle  to  victory,  from  insult  to  honor,  from  death  unto  life. 

How  often  the  language  of  Scripture  is  made  to  groan  beneath 
the  w^eight  of  meaning  when  the  sacred  writers  try  to  convey  to  us 
a  glimpse  of  that  heavenly  glory !  But  they  succeed  only  in  part. 
We  know  that  the  reward  that  awaits  us  will  be  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  our  services.  If  a  king  in  his  magnanimity  should  give  a 
servant  a  palace  for  a  day's  work  it  would  be  a  reward  of  grace 
and  not  of  merit.  "We  shall  drink  of  the  rivers  of  joy."  "At  thy 
right  hand  are  pleasures  forever  more. ' '  Not  a  drop  of  joy ;  that 
would  do :  not  a  cup  of  joy ;  that  would  suffice :  not  a  vessel  of 
joy;  that  would  be  a  plenty;  but  rivers  of  joy  at  God's  right  hand 
forever.   AVho  can  comprehend  the  reward  of  the  faithful! 

Brethren  of  the  ministry,  students  of  our  school  and  members 
of  our  congregation  and  family:  what  is  the  lesson  of  the  hour? 
"Be  thou  faithful  unto  death  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of 
life. ' '    Amen. 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OF    DEATH 
By  Rev.  Prof.  David  H.  Bauslin,  D.  D. 

"But  I  would  not  have  you  to  "be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  them 
which  are  fallen  asleep    .     .     ." — ^I  Thess.  4:  13. 

Occasion :  For  a  Prominent  Church  Member 

Addison  tells  a  story  of  a  dweller  in  Bagdad,  who,  having  a 
vision,  saw  a  bridge  projected  from  a  cloud  on  the  hillside  to  a 
mist  on  a  corresponding  acclivity.  Beneath  the  bridge  there 
flowed  a  deep,  dark  and  turbulent  stream.  The  bridge  itself,  you 
may  remember — for  many  of  you  have  read  the  story  in  the 
schoolbooks — rested  on  an  hundred  arches ;  the  first  seventy  were 
firm  and  intact;  the  last  thirty  were  crumbling  and  unsafe.  An 
innumerable  multitude  was  continually  emerging  from  the  cloud 
and  struggled  and  jostled  each  other  on  the  bridge.  In  the  bridge 
were  numberless  traps,  and  through  them  the  wayfarers  kept 
falling  and  disappearing  in  the  stream  beneath.  A  few  only  kept 
on  until  they  reached  the  last  thirty  of  the  arches,  and  with 
trembling  step  faltered  along  among  the  crumbling  stone,  and, 
only  prolonged  by  vigorous  eJffiorts,  they  inevitably  dropped  into 
the  stream  beneath.  That  vision  is  an  epitome  of  human  life.  It  is 
a  somewhat  weird  portrayal  of  the  end  of  man 's  fitful  and  uncer- 
tain earthly  existence.  '^Alas,"  said  the  beholder  in  the  narrative, 
''here  is  man  given  away  to  mortality  and  swallowed  up  in 
death."  This  vision  is  a  rehearsal  of  the  absolutely  omnipresent 
fact — "dust  thou  art  and  unto  dust  shalt  thou  return."  No  man 
who  is  pastor  of  a  congregation  as  large  as  this,  composed  of  so 
many  households,  can  have  failed  to  notice,  and  painfully,  how 

78 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OF    DEATH  79 

frequent  a  visitant  upon  the  earth  death  is ;  how  much  of  uncer- 
tainty and  painful  possibility  all  our  days  and  nights  are 
freighted  with;  with  what  frequency  the  tenderest  expectations 
falter,  the  dearest  plans  are  broken,  and  the  fondest  hopes  droop 
into  dreary  disappointment.  And  yet,  my  friends,  this  is  but  to 
have  taken  up  into  one's  own  experience  and  observation  the 
most  painful  natural  fact  of  human  history  from  the  beginning. 
Wise  men  of  the  world  have  taken  different  standpoints,  reasoned 
from  this  and  then  from  that  assumed  or  admitted  fact,  followed 
different  and  frequently  divergent  lines  of  reasoning,  and  con- 
structed theory  after  theory,  each  of  which  in  its  turn  has  given 
place  to  some  successor,  until  now  the  entire  pathway  of  the 
world's  history  is  strewn  with  the  wreckage  of  abandoned  theo- 
ries, unsatisfactory  speculations  and  disproven  assumptions.  And 
yet  today,  as  at  the  beginning,  the  great  unknown  is  before  us, 
and  to  the  human  wisdom  it  is  as  much  the  unknown  as  ever 
before.  Here  the  wisdom  of  the  world  stands  today  as  it  has  stood 
for  more  than  six  thousand  years,  knowing  nothing  of  the  future, 
either  near  or  remote,  especially  after  the  death  warrant  has  been 
issued  and  executed.  Before  the  great  perplexing  question  all 
worldly  wisdom  stands  with  bowed  head  and  sealed  lips.  It  has 
been  so  from  the  beginning.  Go  back  to  the  earliest  annals  of  our 
race  and  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  old  book  of  Genesis  you  read 
the  genealogy  of  a  long  line  of  patriarchs,  each  terminating  with 
these  words,  "And  he  died." 

These  words  are  broad  and  deep  with  meaning.  They  mean 
that  the  wonderful  functions  upon  which  our  animal  life  depends, 
and  all  the  other  functions  connected  with  man's  physical  organi- 
zation, have  reached  their  final  limit.  They  mean  that  all  the 
signs  and  manifestations  on  earth  and  through  the  body  are  at  an 
end.  They  mean  that  a  man's  power  to  think  has  come  to  an  end. 
They  mean  that  the  body  that  the  man  once  used  and  graced  is  no 
longer  useful,  and  that  no  nerve,  or  sense,  or  muscle  can  give  the 


80 


FUNERAL   SERMONS 


feeblest  hint,  as  to  where  the  real  man  is  or  what  has  become  of 
him.  They  mean  that  all  of  a  man's  connection  with  and  partici- 
pation in  the  affairs  of  this  world  are  completely  ended,  as  much 
as  if  he  had  never  existed  at  all.  They  mean  that  the  world  is  done 
with  a  man,  and  that  he  is  done  with  it  as  a  present  and  active 
factor  and  power.  These  words  mean,  for  the  mightiest  monarch 
that  ever  ruled,  that  he  comes  down  to  the  level  of  the  commonest 
subject,  so  far  as  action  and  influence  on  earth  is  concerned,  the 
moment  he  stops  breathing.  Life  itself  is  a  marvel  which  has 
taxed  the  scientific  wisdom  and  curiosity  of  all  the  ages,  and  when 
it  stops  the  marvel  loses  none  of  its  strangeness.  Society  has  no 
service  which  dead  men  can  render,  and  no  machinery  which  they 
can  run.  Dead  men  enact  no  law;  they  make  no  speeches;  they 
write  no  books ;  they  fight  no  battles ;  they  set  on  foot  no  magnifi- 
cent enterprises  to  employ  or  bless  mankind.  All  that  is  left  of 
them  for  this  world  is  the  memory  of  what  they  once  were  and  the 
projected  effect  of  what  they  did  when  living.  Put  all  these 
natural  facts  together  and  you  get  something  of  an  idea  of  what 
death,  the  great  reality,  that  awaits  every  one  of  us,  means. 

These  we  say  are  sad  and  ominous  facts.  And  yet  I  know  not 
after  all  whether  they  are  so  sad,  unless  we  be  content  to  come 
under  the  baleful  dominion  of  an  exaggerated  and  utterly  unbib- 
lical  view  of  the  place  and  importance  of  death  in  our  lives.  With 
many  people,  in  belief  and  practice,  death  is  assigned  an  import- 
ance which  it  does  not  have  either  in  the  Bible  or  the  nature  of 
things.  Many  men  mark  on  their  charts  a  terra  incognita  beyond 
the  grave  and  wish  to  pay  no  attention  to  that  region.  Their 
common  ideas  and  fears  of  death  are  more  pagan  than  Christian. 
It  is  a  vague  affair  in  their  minds  with  much  in  it  that  is  repulsive, 
and  accordingly  they  would  keep  their  thoughts  from  it  as  far  as 
possible.  Death  to  many  men  is  the  blank  wall  around  life  beyond 
which  they  look  or  plan  for  nothing ;  an  abrupt  chasm  at  the  end 
of  ill  paths;  nature *s  final  contradiction  of  man's  hopes,  the 


I 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OF    DEATH  gl 

realization  of  his  fears.  An  uncertainty  is  always  unpleasant  to 
dwell  upon,  and  if  you  put  a  not  inconsiderable  element  of  fearful 
possibilities  into  the  uncertainty,  then  you  make  it  still  more 
odious.  It  is  this  uncertain  future  with  its  dim  forebodings  which 
makes  the  mass  of  men  dread  death.  The  uncertainty  is  the  result 
of  the  condition  of  ignorance  in  which  men  keep  themselves  in 
spite  of  God's  light  offered  them,  and  the  forebodings  on  the 
result  of  sin  recognized  by  the  conscience,  and  suggesting  by  the 
uniform  constitution  of  the  soul  the  consequent  punishment.  The 
great  majority  of  men  have  settled  down  to  look  upon  death  as  a 
monster,  and  for  much  of  their  time  on  the  earth  have  excluded 
the  painful  subject  from  their  thoughts  by  absorbing  themselves 
in  the  affairs  of  this  present  life.  No  age  or  nation  can  produce 
an  exception  to  this  natural  hostility  between  man  and  death. 

But  all  this,  my  friends,  is  contrary  to  Scripture.  You  are 
much  mistaken  in  putting  such  a  character  as  you  do  upon  death 
physically  considered,  for  it  is  not  made  the  important  thing,  in 
our  Bible,  nor  does  it  hold  the  first  place  in  the  economy  of 
redemption.  The  Bible  assigns  a  subordinate  place  to  the  king  of 
terrors,  and  it  nowhere  elevates  death  to  the  rank  of  the  supreme 
and  final  transaction  between  man  and  his  Maker.  The  crisis  in 
any  soul's  history  is  not,  in  the  Bible,  the  death  of  the  body.  In 
the  light  of  the  New  Testament  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  and 
eternal  life,  physical  death  does  not  cease  to  be  looked  upon  as  an 
event  that  awaiteth  every  soul  of  man ;  but  it  does  cease  to  be  a 
thing  of  terror,  the  final  thing,  and  as  an  utter  and  impassable 
chasm  across  the  continuity  of  life.  The  dread  and  supreme  fact 
of  death  is  thus  susceptible  of  illumination,  and  accordingly  we 
have  the  Lord's  own  apostle  saying  in  our  text — "I  would  not 
have  you  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  them  which  are  fallen 
asleep. ' '  I  have  dwelt  thus  far  upon  the  exaggerated  and  unbib- 
lical  view  of  the  place  and  function  of  natural  death,  in  order  to 
prepare  the  way  for  several  of  those  supreme  considerations  which 


g2  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

will  serve  us  in  the  illumination  of  such  a  certain  fact  as  our 
final  dissolution.  There  is  something  better  for  us  than  a  pro- 
longed endurance  of  a  restless  and  unhappy  existence  through 
fear  of  a  slain  enemy. 

1st.  Let  me  say  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  death  is  illumin- 
ated when  we  remember  the  unappeasable  desire  of  men — of  all 
men — for  immortality ;  that  there  is  in  men— in  all  men — a  certain 
intuitive  presumption  of  the  indestructible  personality  of  man. 

Four  questions  have  been  asked  everywhere  and  in  all  ages: 
(1)  Is  there  a  God?  (2)  How  ought  man  to  live?  (3)  How  can 
the  consciousness  of  guilt  be  appeased?  (4)  Does  death  end  all? 
These  questions,  and  the  answers  they  have  received,  summarize 
the  religious  history  of  mankind.  Can  it  be  that  man,  who  is 
thrilled  with  deathless  aspirations,  shall  fall  as  the  leaves  fall? 

Immanuel  Kant  said  that  it  is  the  business  of  philosophy  to 
answer  three  questions:  (1)  What  may  I  know?  (2)  What  ought 
I  to  do?  (3)  For  what  may  I  hope?  Attempts  to  answer  these 
questions  summarize  all  the  world's  philosophy  from  Plato  to 
Herbert  Spencer.  ''For  what  may  I  hope,"  is  one  of  Kant's  ques- 
tions; but  centuries  before  Kant,  and  far  back  in  the  dawn  of 
history,  Job,  as  he  pondered  on  the  same  unending  problems, 
cried  out:  ''If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again?"  That  is  the  one 
question  which  will  never  go  down.  I  ask  it;  you  ask  it;  every 
man  asks  it  with  unappeasable  eagerness.  If  man  is  to  die  at  last 
like  a  dog  why  should  he  live  like  an  angel?  If  death  ends  all, 
then  it  would  be  difficult  to  prove  that  the  barbarous  philosophy 
of  life  that  says,  "Let  us  eat  and  drink  for  tomorrow  we  die,"  is 
not  the  true  philosophy  of  life.  But  we  have  a  consciousness  of 
something  within  us  that  has  about  it  the  very  property  of  death- 
lessness.  And  just  that  consciousness,  my  friends,  in  our  hour  of 
high  access  to  God,  we  sometimes  do  have  and  there  is  in  us  a 
deep,  full  sense  that  we  cannot  die,  because  there  is  in  us,  and 
of  ius,  something  to  which  death  has  no  relevance.   It  is  only  by 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OF    DEATH  g3 

having  within  us  something  that  is  immortal,  and  having  it  in 
such  fulness  that  it  lies  as  a  great  wealthy  fact  in  our  conscious- 
ness, that  we  are  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  fear,  and  are  set 
in  the  pleasant  prospect  of  the  things  to  come. 

There  are  physical  facts  and  there  are  mental  facts.  The 
physical  facts  prove  that  a  nature  of  things  exists.  The  mental 
facts  prove  that  there  are  mental  endowments.  To  deny  either 
of  these  statements  would  be  to  ignore  the  universal  conviction  of 
mankind  and  to  strike  reason  in  the  face.  But  are  there  no  spir- 
itual facts  as  well?  The  world-wide  consciousness  of  mankind, 
the  testimony  of  human  history  is  the  affirmation  to  the  question. 
Men  talk  of  tender  conscience,  of  hatred  for  all  evil  and  vileness, 
of  the  loving  of  all  things  beautiful  and  good.  What  are  such 
factors  in  human  life  and  aspiration?  But  if  there  be  spiritual 
facts,  there  must  be  a  spiritual  nature.  And  this  spiritual  nature 
has  needs  peculiar  to  itself  cravings  higher  even  than  those  of  the 
intellect,  aspirations  reaching  out  far  beyond  the  kingdom  of 
nature.  Man's  harmony  with  the  world  is  never  complete.  His 
heart  constantly  throbs  with  unsatisfied  desires.  Amid  conscious 
infirmity,  under  sentence  of  death,  there  is  ever  a  feeling  after  if 
happily  he  may  find  his  home,  a  knowledge  more  satisfying,  a 
welcome  more  cordial  and  a  resting-place  more  permanent  and 
restful  than  any  this  earth  has  afforded.  The  question  is  this,  Has 
no  provision  been  made  for  such  facts?  Is  there  no  answer  to 
Kant's  question,  "For  what  may  I  hope?"  Is  the  racer  in  life 
to  reach  no  goal?  Is  the  voyager  to  the  future  to  be  stranded 
and  to  go  down  in  a  sea  whose  caverns  are  dark  with  doubt  and 
uncertainty?  Is  the  better  and  higher  nature  of  man  to  be  van- 
quished in  the  hour  of  death?  The  assertion  of  even  such  a  possi- 
bility, my  friends,  can  be  of  no  possible  use  to  you  and  me.  Such 
an  assertion  but  mocks  our  deepest  convictions,  laughs  at  our 
sense  of  moral  quiet  and  shames  the  deepest  longings  of  our  souls. 
The  soul's  immateriality,  and  the  soul's  longings,  and  the  soul's 


84  FUNEEAL   SEEMONS 

capabilities  would  seem  to  indicate  possibilities  of  development 
for  which  there  is  manifestly  no  room  in  this  earthly  life.  They 
do  so  indicate,  and  if  there  be  no  affirmative  answer,  no  definite 
and  satisfactory  answer  to  Kant's  question,  and  Job's  question, 
then  man's  works  are  greater  than  man's  self — then  are  the 
pyramids  grander  than  their  builders;  then  were  it  better  to  be 
an  oak  in  yonder  forest  than  to  be  Wm.  E.  Gladstone. 

But  a  few  years  ago,  and  near  the  same  time,  there  passed 
away  from  the  earth  two  of  the  leading  names  in  the  scientific 
annals  of  our  times — Prof.  Clifford  and  Prof.  Maxwell.  They 
were  not  only  widely  learned  men  but  both  genial,  kindly  and 
loving  souls.  Professor  Clifford  sang  no  song  of  triumph  because 
as  he  personally  said,  he  had  no  song  to  sing.  He  believed  that 
man  had  come  here  as  the  fatal  working  out  of  sightless  and 
ungoverned  forces,  and  that  he  was  the  result  of  a  thousand 
aimless  energies.  Prof.  Maxwell  on  the  other  hand,  believed  man 
to  be  a  son  of  God,  and  a  joint  heir  with  Jesus  Christ,  in  whom 
was  lodged  the  sovereignty  of  the  King  over  all.  Prof.  Clifford 
believed  that  no  personal  immortality  attaches  to  man — that  the 
longings  and  aspirations  of  which  I  have  spoken,  are  but  lies  in 
our  being  and  the  phantoms  of  our  lives.  Prof.  Maxwell  believed 
that  manhood  was  filled  with  divinely  loaded  energies,  that  it 
shall  go  on  forever,  that  a  limitless  eternity  hangs  over  all  men, 
and  that  it  is  filled  with  a  voice  which  says — ''He  that  over- 
cometh  shall  inherit  all  things  and  I  will  be  his  God  and  he  shall 
be  my  son."  Professor  Clifford's  creed  had  this  for  comfort  and 
strength — ''Beloved  now  are  we  the  results  of  force  and  it  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  we  know  that  when  the 
changes  come,  we  shall  be  like  these  forces,  for  of  them  we  come 
and  into  them  at  last  we  go ;  man  is  the  gift  of  force  and  the  end 
of  force  is  death."  Professor  Maxwell's  creed  is  an  assertion  of 
the  lordship  of  life  over  death.  It  is  a  song  of  triumph  and  a  shout 
of  victory.  It  is  this — "Beloved  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OF    DEATH  85 

it  doth  not  yet  appear  wHat  we  shall  be,  but  we  know  that  when 
he  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  him  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he 
is."  I  know  not  what  to  say  to  the  man  who  does  not  recognize 
and  feel  the  difference  in  these  creeds,  as  answers  to  the  deep 
questionings  of  the  human  soul.  This,  my  brethren,  is  our  conso- 
lation, this  our  confidence,  our  inspiration  and  our  hope — that 
we  walk  this  earth  as  the  kings  of  nature,  and  as  the  prophets 
of  another  world ;  that  we  are  chosen  from  our  birth  and  called  of 
God  to  be  witnesses  to  the  higher  order  of  spirit,  and  to  live  as 
heirs  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

2nd.  But  to  advance  to  stronger  assurances  and  unquestion- 
able certainties,  let  me  say,  that  death  is  illuminated  by  reading 
into  it  the  fact  of  the  Evangelical  history. 

There  is  in  much  of  the  world's  literature,  and  in  current 
speech,  so  much  in  recognition  of  a  better  life,  and  a  more  restful 
and  holy  life,  that  men  forget  sometimes  that  the  fertile  ground 
of  all  such  expectation,  and  the  fruitful  fountain  of  all  such  con- 
solation, is  the  Gospel.  We  know  of  no  one  else  but  the  Lord  from 
heaven  that  has  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light;  so  that 
any  just  discourse  upon  such  a  theme  must  needs  begin  and  end 
with  Christ.  Sin  it  was  that  caused  the  natural  possibility  of 
mortality  to  pass  into  the  certainty  of  death  for  man.  But  never- 
theless, man  is  to  work  out  his  time  here  and  to  pass  through 
death  as  being  not  necessarily  subject  to  death,  but  bom  under 
the  higher  law  of  the  spirit  and  with  the  fact  of  eternal  life 
always  before  him.  If  we  are  to  learn  anything  from  the  mani- 
festation of  Christ  after  his  crucifixion,  it  is  this,  if  we  have  need 
to  learn  it,  that  over  the  man,  the  spirit  which  thinks  and  feels 
and  loves  and  which  is  in  turn  loved  and  trusted  and  honored, 
death  has  no  control. 

To  the  question:  ''If  a  man  die  shall  he  live  again?"  there  is 
nothing  in  nature  which  renders  a  distinct  answer.  All  that  is 
taught,  for  example,  by  the  seed  corn  cast  into  the  ground,  and 


86  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

from  which  the  blade  appears  next  spring,  is  the  continuity  of 
life.  The  change  that  takes  place  in  the  seed  no  eye,  no  micro- 
scope, no  chemical  analysis  can  trace.  It  is  an  enigma,  and  from 
an  enigma  no  clear  and  satisfactory  truth  can  be  drawn.  Nor 
have  philosophers  succeeded  by  the  process  called  logic,  any  bet- 
ter in  satisfactorily  proving  immortality.  Plato 's  splendid  efforts 
are  not  entirely  convincing,  and  the  phoenix  bird  which  rose  from 
the  ashes  of  the  ancient  funeral  pyres  was  but  a  delusion.  The 
Christian  doctrine  of  immortality  is  not  a  surmise ;  it  is  not  an 
inference  from  certain  facts  and  appearances  in  nature  that  hap- 
pen to  look  in  that  direction;  it  is  not  a  wish  pushed  to  the 
point  of  becoming  an  opinion.  The  doctrine  of  immortality  was 
first  a  fact  in  the  life  of  our  divine  Lord  and  we  are  entered  into 
participation  in  that  fact  because  of  our  participation  in  the  life 
of  our  Lord.  Whatever  the  longings  and  hopes  and  guesses  as  to 
the  future  life,  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  for  the  first  time  sets 
all  questions  as  to  the  future  and  the  life  after  death  at  rest.  If 
he  be  alive  from  the  dead,  then  have  we  a  demonstration  that 
death  has  not  absolute  power,  and  that  if  it  could  not  hold  him 
who  was  slain  on  the  tree,  then  who  may  hold  such  as  Christ  bids 
to  arise  from  the  dead?  The  resurrection  of  Christ  demonstrates 
that  there  is  a  kind  of  life  that  death  and  the  grave  cannot  do 
anything  with,  cannot  handle  it,  nor  do  its  pleasure  upon  it,  nor 
in  any  way  obstruct  or  embarrass  it. 

That  guarded  tomb  in  Joseph's  garden  on  the  night  of  our 
Lord's  crucifixion  was  the  grave  of  his  people's  hopes;  the  open 
sepulchre  from  which  the  stone  was  rolled  away  on  the  morning 
of  the  third  day  was  the  birthplace  of  their  immortality.  Not 
since  then  has  the  tomb  been  so  dark  and  forbidding.  Christ  did 
depart.  He  did  return,  and  his  very  presence  did  proclaim  that 
there  is  a  father's  heart  in  the  universe  and  that  that  heart  beats 
in  sympathy  with  the  sighing  and  sorrowing.  Such  an  assuring 
pledge  of  the  certainty  of  that  immortal  life  as  the  resurrection 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OF    DEATH  87 

of  our  Lord  we  saidly  need.  The  sad  plaint  of  John  Stuart  Mill 
shows  us  how  that  life  is  rayless,  starless  midnight  without  one 
voice  of  hope  and  cheer  crying  in  the  darkness,  when  there  is  no 
such  assurance.  The  plaint  of  that  gifted  man  is  one  of  the  sad- 
dest chapters  in  modern  literature.  Under  the  teaching  of  his 
father  his  young  mind  had  been  thoroughly  emptied  of  God.  In 
1830,  at  the  age  of  twenty-four,  he  began  a  friendship,  which  he 
calls  "the  honor  and  chief  blessing  of  his  existence,  as  well  as 
the  source  of  a  great  part  of  all  he  attempted  to  do  or  hoped  to 
effect  thereafter  for  human  improvement."  He  was  introduced  to 
the  lady  who  after  twenty  years  of  friendship  became  his  wife. 
With  more  than  the  usual  enthusiasm  of  love,  John  Stuart  Mill 
believed  that  he  had  found  in  her  a  combination  of  the  finest 
qualities  he  had  known  in  the  greatest  men.  To  her  this  philoso- 
pher gave  himself  with  a  devotion  as  fervent  as  was  ever  ren- 
dered the  Virgin  Mary  by  the  most  devout  Romanist.  "Who  can 
read  without  emotion  the  dedication  of  his  essay  on  Liberty — 
''To  the  beloved  and  deplored  memory  of  her  who  was  the 
inspirer  and  in  part  the  author  of  all  that  is  best  in  my  writings, 
the  friend  and  wife  whose  exalted  sense  of  truth  and  right  was 
my  strongest  incitement,  and  whose  approbation  was  my  chief 
reward — I  dedicate  this  volume.  .  .  .  Were  I  but  capable  of 
interpreting  to  the  world  one-half  the  great  thoughts  and  noble 
feelings  which  are  buried  in  her  grave,  I  should  be  the  medium 
of  a  greater  benefit  to  it  than  is  ever  likely  to  arise  from  any- 
thing that  I  can  write  unprompted  and  unassisted  by  her  all  but 
unrivaled  wisdom."  In  1851,  Stuart  Mill  was  married  to  her  in 
whose  mind  he  could  "detect  no  mixture  of  error."  For  seven 
and  a  half  years  only  did  they  live  together,  and  then  she  was 
taken  to  the  God  in  whom  she  also  did  not  believe.  The  memory 
of  that  woman  became  the  strong  man's  religion.  She  had  been 
laid  to  rest  in  the  south  of  Prance,  in  sunny  Avignon,  and  year 
by  year  this  remorseless  logician,  this  acute  philosopher,  went 


88 


FUNERAL   SERMONS 


thither  and  wept  over  her  grave.  There  he  walked  amid  the 
cypress  trees,  and  looking  vainly  to  the  east  and  the  west,  the 
north  and  the  south,  he  sent  forth  an  exceeding  great  and  bitter 
cry  which  seems  like  an  echo  of  Mary's  voice  from  the  empty 
tomb  of  her  Lord  in  Joseph's  garden — ''They  have  taken  away 
my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him." 

You  may  ask,  "What  does  all  this  mean?"  It  means  this — 
that  here  was  a  man,  a  son  of  the  living  God  living  upon  the 
recollection  of  a  brief  gladness  that  could  never  come  back,  for  I 
would  have  you  to  remember  that  no  flower  of  hope  bloomed  on 
that  grave  in  the  south  of  France  to  which  Mill  made  his  sorrow^- 
ful  journeyings.  I  revert  to  the  words  of  our  text,  "I  would  not 
have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  them  which  are 
fallen  asleep,"  and  couple  them  with  the  words  of  the  same 
apostle  of  the  Lord — "If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  we  are 
of  all  men  most  miserable."  "Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also." 
That  is  the  statement  of  a  great  fact  that  draws  another  great 
fact  in  its  train.  My  immortality  is  the  immortal  Christ  in  me. 
That  is  the  Christian  doctrine  of  immortality,  so  that  death  means 
no  more  to  me,  if  Christ  lives  in  me,  than  it  meant  to  Christ 
himself.  That  is  the  great  point  in  Christ's  address  to  Martha, 
"Whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die."  We 
have  not  only  the  fact  of  our  Lord's  rising  from  the  dead,  but 
also  the  doctrinal  import  of  that  fact  with  respect  to  believers. 
Christ  has  risen  in  a  certain  character  and  relation  as  "the  first 
fruits  of  them  that  slept."  A  vast  harvest  is  in  the  future,  of 
which  he  is  the  first  fruits  and  pledge  of  the  full  ingathering. 
Previous  resurrections  occurred,  but  in  no  sense  were  they  "first 
fruits."  They  involved  no  idea  of  a  divine  covenant,  and  had  no 
representation  or  mediatorial  character.  The  Scriptures  declare 
that  "God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead  but  of  the  living,"  and  we 
may  credit  that  revelation  which  bids  us  believe  that  God's  own 
thought  is  to  bring  life  to   everlasting  triumph  in  some  final 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OF    DEATH  89 

deliverance  from  death,  and  that  the  living  God  will  not  pause 
nor  tarry  until  he  raises  from  this  earth  a  race  of  the  children 
of  God,  capable  of  living  forever  in  unison  with  himself  and  his 
creation. 

Let  me  know  beyond  a  doubt  that  Jesus  folded  the  napkin  in 
that  sepulchre  in  Joseph's  garden,  burst  the  bars  of  death  and 
led  captivity  captive,  and  then  I  know  that  the  atonement  is  per- 
fected, that  sin  may  be  clutched,  that  Satan  may  be  conquered, 
that  God  may  be  reconciled,  and  that  eternal  life  may  be  made 
accessible  to  every  man's  faith  and  hope,  that  the  body,  the  temple 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  is  sacred,  and  that  by  and  by,  our  Lord  will 
raise  it  up,  and  shall  fashion  it  anew  that  it  may  be  conformed 
to  the  body  of  his  glory,  according  to  the  mighty  working  where- 
by he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself. 

I  turn  aside  here  from  the  pursuit  of  this  inviting  theme  to 
a  conclusion  or  two  befitting  the  greatness  and  gladness  of  our 
subject.  My  sermon  has  been  one  of  assurance  regarding  that 
eternal  life  which  is  declared  to  be  a  gift  of  God.  Now  then  if 
these  things  be  so,  it  follows  that  our  true  life  consists  in  our 
coming  at  once,  in  our  own  souls,  into  the  right  and  fullest  pos- 
sible correspondence  with  that  which  is  the  real  and  eternal  ele- 
ment of  life.  We  are  made  to  live  in  harmony  with  all  good, 
beautiful,  and  true  things,  or  in  communion  with  God. 

(1.)  Accordingly  my  first  conclusion  from  our  subject  is  one 
of  admonition  regarding  the  ordering  of  our  lives  in  view  of  these 
supreme  facts.  The  man  who  has  not  a  clear  belief  in  a  future 
life  based  upon  such  assurance  as  I  have  named,  can  have  no 
strong  sense  of  duty.  The  great  truths  involved  in  our  subject  are 
so  wrought  into  our  faith  and  sensibilities  that  they  wield  the 
man  who  ardentlj^  believes  them.  They  are  mysteriously  gifted 
with  a  power  of  their  own.  The  teaching  of  the  Bible  is  that  what, 
as  to  condition  and  destiny,  we  are  to  be  hereafter,  depends  upon 
what,  as  to  character,  we  are  here.  The  two  lives  are  thus  united 


90  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

not  simply  as  being  successive,  but  in  the  order  of  moral  sequence 
as  well.  This,  according  to  the  Bible,  is  the  constitution  of  things 
which  God  has  adopted,  and  which  we  cannot  vacate  or  change. 
We  are  subject  to  it  by  the  irreversible  necessity  of  a  divine 
appointment,  and  whether  we  heed  it  or  not,  act  wisely  in  view 
of  it  or  not,  the  appointment  remains  the  same.  It  is  true  that, 
under  this  appointment,  ''whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall 
he  also  reap."  It  is  true  that  "he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh  shall 
of  the  flesh  reap  corruption"  and  that  "he  that  soweth  to  the 
Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  everlasting. ' '  The  Bible  is  full 
of  this  idea,  and  in  the  light  of  it  is  constantly  sounding  its 
warnings  in  the  hearing  of  men.  The  man  who  assumes  the 
contrary,  or  practically  conducts  life  as  if  the  reverse  were  true, 
takes  upon  himself  an  awful  hazard.  He  denies,  when  he  ought 
to  admit,  and  trifles  when  he  ought  to  be  solemn.  It  is  a  practical 
heresy  to  deny  that  what  a  man  thinks  upon  such  great  themes 
as  the  future  life  and  his  personal  immortality,  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  formation  of  his  character  and  the  ordering  of  his 
conduct.  Any  degree  of  presumption  that  we  are  here  acting  for 
eternity  ought  to  be  practically  as  conclusive  as  the  most  absolute 
demonstration. 

In  one  of  her  moral  fables  Jane  Taylor  gives  an  account  of  the 
arrival  and  sojourn  on  this  earth  of  a  former  inhabitant  of  the 
planet  Venus.  He  was  one  of  a  race  like  ours,  apparently  in  all 
respects  human,  except  that  he  had  never  heard  of  death.  No 
hint  of  it  came  to  him  until  after  he  had  resided  several  weeks 
in  this  world,  and  had  in  the  meantime  been  introduced  to  all  the 
gayeties  of  society  and  instructed  in  the  best  means  of  making 
money.  His  emotions  at  the  discovery  that  all  men  must  die,  and 
the  amazement  that  overcame  him  at  the  worldliness  of  creatures 
with  such  a  destiny,  and  their  indifference  to  the  future,  are 
vividly  portrayed  in  the  story.  He  was  appalled  at  the  earthly 
insensibility  and  lack  of  preparation  for  death.    The  admonition 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OF    DEATH  91 

of  our  subject,  my  friends,  is  to  watchfulness  and  fidelity  in  the 
ordering  of  our  lives.  ''Wherefore,  beloved,  seeing  that  ye  look 
for  such  things,  be  diligent  that  ye  may  be  found  of  him  in  peace, 
without  spot  and  blameless."  Thus  shall  we  weigh  anchor  and  put 
out  hopefully  for  eternity.  Tennyson  has  given  it  well  in  ''Cross- 
ing the  Bar": 

' '  Sunset  and  evening  star, 

And  one  clear  call  for  me! 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar, 
When  I  put  out  to  sea. 

* '  But  such  a  tide  as  moving  seems  asleep, 
Too  full  for  sound  and  foam, 
When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep 
Turns  again  home. 

'' Twilight  and  evening  bell, 
And  after  that  the  dark: 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell, 
When  I  embark. 

*'For  though  from  out  our  bourne  of  time  and  place. 
The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 
When  I  have  crossed  the  bar.'' 

2.  My  second  conclusion  from  our  subject  is  the  assurance  of 
Christian  hope  regarding  our  cherished  dead  who  have  fallen 
asleep. 

Not  long  ago,  on  a  beautiful  day,  when  the  sun  was  soft,  the 
skies  translucent  and  the  air  laden  with  fragrance,  I  stood  with  a 
little  company  of  friends,  in  our  cemetery.  A  wife  and  mother 
was  being  laid  to  rest.  It  was  a  sight  often  seen,  and  yet  one  to 
which  we  can  never  become  reconciled.  There  was  the  narrow 
grave,  the  long  box,  the  mound  with  flowers  that  would  soon 
wither  and  the  "dust  to  dust,  and  ashes  to  ashes."  How  common 
that  sight  has  become,  for  all  these  things  have  been  going  on  for 


92  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

thousands  of  years.  In  view  of  such  facts  certain  teachers  in  our 
day  have  mustered  courage  to  say  only  this:  ''We  don't  know; 
there  must  we  leave  it."  But  that  satisfies  no  one.  It  is  no 
panacea  for  sad  hearts  and  weeping  eyes.  Immanuel  Kant  said 
it  was  the  business  of  philosophy  to  answer  the  question,  ''For 
what  may  I  hope?"  It  is  the  Gospel  and  not  philosophy  that 
answers  that  question  that  never  goes  down.  What  says  Jesus 
Christ  about  the  mystery  of  death?  Never  do  his  great  words 
thrill  with  so  divine  a  music.  This  universe  is  not  simply  space 
dotted  with  worlds  held  together  by  invisible  attractions.  Listen 
— ''In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions,"  many  rooms. 
Father;  house;  many  rooms;  dying,  going  from  one  room  into 
another.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled;  death  is  nothing  to 
dread.  This  is  a  sample  of  the  answers  Jesus  Christ  brings  to 
such   questions. 

And  it  is  only,  my  friends,  when  such  experiences  are  made 
our  own  that  we  come  to  know  the  fineness  and  sweetness  of  these 
answers.  There  is  a  time  in  many  lives  when  the  whole  being  is 
absorbed  and  apparently  satisfied  in  the  love  of  others  at  their 
side.  But  this  time  is  brief.  The  intensity  of  such  love  is  the 
measure  of  the  pain  it  must  entail  on  the  survivor.  All  the  rev- 
erence and  sanctity  of  love  for  parents;  all  the  growing  into 
oneness,  and  the  cleaving  of  soul  to  soul  which  hallow  married 
life ;  all  the  joy  of  being  trusted  by  fair  children,  is  like  the  brief 
sunshine  which  burns  down  into  the  chilly  evening  and  then 
into  the  cold  night. 

There  is  no  more  pathetic  sight  in  this  world  than  a  new-made 
grave.  It  is  the  mournful  termination  of  human  toil,  the  end  of 
man's  hot  ambitions  and  strenuous  exertions.  If  the  assurances 
of  our  faith  which  we  have  considered,  be  no  assurance,  then  our 
march  of  the  sleeping-places  where  dark  yew  trees  cast  their 
shadoAvs  and  lettered  stones  betray  the  impotence  of  grief  is 
always  a  "dead  march"  along  an  uncheered  via  dolorosa;  then 


THE    ILLUMINATION    OP    DEATH  93 

the  resting-places  of  our  cherished  dead  are  become  gloomy  and 
forbidding  prisons;  then  those  words  of  hope  chiseled  on  tomb- 
stones in  every  churchyard  of  Christendom  have  no  meaning, 
and  the  flowers  which  symbolize  our  hope,  planted  on  the  graves 
of  our  departed,  are  without  significance.  But  faith  in  Christ  is 
faith  in  him  who  said,  ''Thy  brother  shall  rise  again."  "I  am 
the  resurrection  and  the  life,"  It  is  a  faith  which  casts  the  soft 
light  of  hope  on  ancient  graves,  and  on  the  newest  turf  which 
covers  such  as  have  gone  hence. 

There  is  a  pretty  little  story  of  a  Hindoo  mother  who  went 
hither  and  thither  with  her  babe  in  her  arms,  crying  to  neighbors 
to  help  her: 

*' Something  to  heal  my  darling's  heart,"  she  cried. 

'*A  grain  of  mustard  seed/'  the  sage  replied, 
''Found  where  none  old  or  young  has  ever  died, 

Will  cure  the  pain  you  carry  in  your  side." 

The  eager  mother  wandered  east  and  west,  but  found  not  the 
magic  seed.  Everywhere  death  had  been  before  her.  Let  it  be 
even  so,  beloved;  but  we  who  believe  in  the  risen  Lord  are  not 
hopeless.  Our  precious  dead  are  safe.  This  we  know,  they  have 
gone  to  be  with  Christ,  through  whom  we  have  the  gift  of  eternal 
life,  and  that  involves  everything  we  could  wish  for  them.  They 
can  nevermore  be  vexed  or  agonized  with  suspense  or  blighted  by 
sickness  or  death.  True  it  is,  that  we  miss  them,  and  at  times  are 
inexpressibly  lonesome  without  them;  and  yet  our  grief  is  never 
a  hopeless  grief  because  our  Lord  has  risen  and  lives  forever- 
more,  and  has  the  keys  of  death  and  hell,  and  because  we  read 
into  their  departure  the  glad  assurances  of  our  Lord's  Gospel. 
And  this,  my  friends,  is  great  gain.  "I  am  come,"  said  our  Lord, 
"that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it  more 
abundantly."  "He  that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting  life" 
is  his  perpetual  assurance.  "If  a  man  keep  my  sayings  he  shall 
never  see  death,"  is  his  promise.  "He  that  heareth  my  word  and 


94  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

believeth  on  him  that  sent  me  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not 
come  into  condemnation:  but  is  passed  from  death  unto  life." 
Therefore,  beloved,  ^ '  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  ignorant  concerning 
them  which  are  fallen  asleep."  We  have  seen  the  risen  Christ  and 
heard  his  words,  wherefore  let  us  go  on  and  live. 

"I  shall  arise!     What  time,  what  circuit  first,  I  ask  not; 
In   sometime — his  good  time — I   shall  arise; 

*     *     *     *         in  his  good  time.*' 


THE  MYSTERY  OF  DEATH  IS  SOLVED 
By  Rev.  J.  W.  Schillinger 

"The  wages  of  sin  is  death;  hut  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." — Rom.  6:  23. 

Occasian:  For  the  Father  of  a  Family,  and  a  Faithful  Member 

of  the  Church 

Dear  Christian  Friends,  and  especially  sorrowing  Family  of 
the  departed  Brother: 

One  of  the  most  wonderful  mysteries  in  this  world  is  the 
mystery  of  life.  We  see  evidences  of  it  on  all  sides.  In  every 
sprouting  seed  and  growing  plant,  in  every  animal,  in  every 
human  being,  we  see  its  manifestation.  In  every  one  of  God's 
creatures  which  lives  and  moves  there  is  an  active  principle 
which  we  call  life,  which,  however,  no  man  is  able  to  compre- 
hend or  explain.  The  folly  of  the  man  who  refuses  to  believe  what 
he  cannot  understand  is  evident  here.  He  carries  in  his  own  body 
an  active  principle  called  life  which  he  dare  not  deny,  and  yet 
which  he  cannot  understand.  When  we  view  this  mystery  of  life 
which  surrounds  us  in  this  world  and  which  we  carry  in  our  very 
being,  it  should  impress  upon  us  the  solemn  truth  that  the  Crea- 
tor is  vastly  greater  and  wiser  than  the  creature. 

Almost  equally  wonderful  and  incomprehensible  is  the  mystery 
of  death.  What  is  death?  Whence  did  it  come  into  this  world? 
How  did  death  with  its  destroying  power  manage  to  get  into  a 
creation  which  God  made  so  perfect  and  beautiful?  How  can  we 
escape  death?  What  is  the  state  of  man  after  death?  These  are 
some  of  the  troublesome  questions  which  have  baffled  the  minds 

95 


96  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

of  men  for  many  centuries.  Death  is  a  mystery.  For  the  man  whose 
mind  has  not  been  enlightened  by  God's  Word  it  remains  a  grim 
and  awful  mystery.  In  the  text  which  we  have  before  us  today 
God  has  given  us  a  perfect  solution  for  this  mystery.  As  we  now 
stand  in  the  presence  of  death,  and  our  souls  are  troubled  by  the 
mystery  in  which  it  is  wrapped,  it  should  fill  us  with  comfort 
and  joy  to  hear  that : 

The  Mystery  of  Death  is  Solved 

1.  The  Origin  of  Death  is  revealed:  The  origin  of  death  has 
always  been  one  of  its  mysteries.  How  is  the  presence  of  such  a 
horrid  monster  as  death  in  this  world  consistent  with  the  wisdom 
and  goodness  of  God?  We  know  that  ''God  is  love."  Out  of  pure 
love  he  created  this  world  and  everything  that  is  in  it.  He  did  it 
all  also  in  supreme  wisdom.  After  he  had  finished  his  creation  he 
said  that  it  was  all  very  good.  How  then  did  death  get  into  it  to 
ruin  it  all  ?  Why  did  God  ever  permit  death  to  come  and  turn  all 
of  man's  happiness  into  wretchedness,  and  change  this  world 
which  was  a  paradise  into  a  vale  of  tears? 

In  their  efforts  to  solve  this  mystery  men  have  fallen  into 
grave  errors.  Some  have  tried  to  tell  us  that  death  is  simply  a 
natural  end  to  man's  life  in  this  world.  It  is  not  a  sad  thing, 
they  say,  but  a  perfectly  natural  thing.  It  was  God's  will  from  the 
beginning  that  man's  life  should  end  in  this  manner.  Just  as  at 
harvest  time  the  golden  grain,  having  become  ripe,  is  gathered  in, 
so  man's  life,  having  run  its  course,  comes  to  a  natural  end.  A 
reply  to  such  a  theory  is  hardly  necessary.  The  human  heart 
instinctively  rejects  it.  You,  dear  friends,  experience  on  such  an 
occasion  as  this  that  death  is  a  painful  thing. 

You  saw  the  sufferings  of  our  dear  brother  before  he  fell 
asleep.  You  know  that  the  rending  of  his  soul  from  the  body 
was  painful.  You  know  the  sorrow  of  your  own  hearts  over  the 
separation  which  you  have  experienced.  It  must  seem  like  mock- 


THE    MYSTERY    OF    DEATH    SOLVED  97 

ery  to  you  for  anyone  to  tell  you  that  death  is  simply  a  natural 
event  and  not  to  be  grieved  over.  Your  own  heart  tells  you  that 
such  an  event  as  this  is  contrary  to  the  original-  plans  of  a  good 
and  wise  God.  You  instinctively  feel  that  if  God's  original  plans 
for  the  happiness  of  our  race  had  been  carried  out  death  would 
never  have  come  into  this  world. 

Others,  in  their  zeal  to  reconcile  the  existing  state  of  affairs 
with  the  goodness  of  God,  have  denied  death  entirely.  They  tell 
us  that  sin  and  death  actually  do  not  exist,  that  they  are  simply 
creatures  of  man's  perverted  imagination.  You,  the  sorrowing 
family  of  this  departed  brother,  know  by  your  own  experience 
that  such  a  theory  is  absurd.  The  man  who  can  believe  such 
theorizing  must  have  lost  his  reason. 

How  then  shall  we  solve  this  troublesome  question  with  regard 
to  the  origin  of  death?  Our  text  gives  us  the  solution.  It  says: 
''The  wages  of  sin  is  death."  This  explains  it  all.  It  was  not 
God's  plan  from  the  beginning  that  death  should  come  into  this 
world.  It  was  his  intention  that  man  should  live  forever  and  be 
eternally  happy  in  the  paradise  of  this  earth.  Death  was  a  thing 
entirely  foreign  to  God's  original  work  of  creation.  But  man 
sinned.  Of  his  own  free  will  he  permitted  himself  to  be  deceived 
by  Satan.  He  placed  his  will  in  contradiction  to  the  will  of  God, 
and  the  result  was  that  this  horrid  contradiction  to  all  of  God's 
beautiful  creation,  death,  came  into  this  world.  On  the  very  day 
that  man  committed  that  sin  he  plunged  himself  into  spiritual 
death.  He  separated  himself  from  God.  The  natural  consequence 
of  this  was  bodily  death,  the  separation  of  the  soul  from  the 
body.  And  unless  the  course  of  events  were  staid  by  the  grace  of 
God,  the  end  of  it  all  would  be  eternal  death,  the  eternal  separa- 
tion of  the  soul  from  God.  By  man's  sin  he  brought  death  also 
upon  all  creation.  All  nature  was  cursed  for  man's  sake.  God's 
creatures  began  to  fall  victims  of  disease  and  accident ;  they 
began  to  destroy  and  devour  one  another.   Ever  since  that  sad 


98  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

day  when  man  rebelled  against  God,  death  has  reigned  supreme 
in  this  world.  On  the  day  of  our  birth  already  we  begin  to  die.  The 
infirmities  which  are  the  harbingers  of  death  appear.  They  grow 
in  strength  and  daily  gain  more  control  over  us  until  we  sink' 
into  the  grave.  The  entire  human  race  is  a  dying  race.  The  entire 
earth  is  one  vast  cemetery.  One  after  another,  we  carry  one 
another  to  the  grave.  All  of  God's  wonderful,  beautiful  creation 
is  a  dying  creation.   It  has  all  been  brought  about  by  man's  sin. 

The  presence  of  death  before  us  today  should  therefore  be  a 
call  to  repentance.  Here  we  are  forcibly  reminded  of  our  sinful- 
ness. Death  stands  before  our  eyes;  and  we  know  that  death  is 
the  wages  of  sin.  Surely  this  must  move  us  to  examine  ourselves 
and  see  the  sinfulness  of  our  hearts  and  lives.  Here  we  see  also 
what  a  dreadful  thing  sin  must  be  in  God's  sight.  So  dreadful  it 
is  that  it  plunges  the  whole  creation  into  death.  Surely  this  must 
move  us  to  repent  with  all  our  hearts  and  turn  from  sin. 

For  your  comfort,  dear  friends,  you  have  the  assurance  that 
this  dear  brother  before  he  departed  had  learned  this  lesson  from 
death.  He  knew  that  death  stood  before  him.  He  believed  the 
words  of  Holy  Scripture,  that  death  is  the  wages  of  sin.  In  death 
he  saw  a  reminder  of  his  own  sinfulness.  Not  that  he  was  a  sin- 
ner above  others ;  for  he  led  a  truly  Christian  life ;  and  we  all  may 
take  his  life  as  a  model.  But  he  never  trusted  in  the  Christian 
life  which  he  led.  He  knew  his  own  sinfulness  too  well  for  that. 
His  approaching  death  reminded  him  of  his  sinfulness.  It  moved 
him  to  renew  his  repentance.  On  his  death-bed  he  made  humble 
confession,  as  he  had  done  so  often  before.  He  confessed  his 
faith  in  Christ.  He  received  the  absolution,  and  was  comforted 
with  the  holy  supper  of  our  Savior's  body  and  blood.  Death 
which  stood  before  him  moved  him  to  repentance;  and  of  that 
repentance  he  is  now  enjoying  the  fruits. 

2.  The  Way  of  Deliverance  from  Death  is  opened:  How  can 
I  escape  death?   The  human  mind  has  ever  concerned  itself  with 


THE    MYSTERY    OF    DEATH    SOLVED  99 

this  troublesome  question.  Men  stay  away  from  death  as  long  as 
they  can.  When  they  see  death  coming  near  them,  they  flee  from 
it  as  far  as  their  strength  carries  them.  They  do  everything  in 
their  power  to  prolong  life.  All  of  the  inventions  which  the 
learning  and  science  of  men  can  produce  have  been  utilized  to 
overcome  the  ravages  of  death.  Religions  have  been  invented  by 
man  which  claim  to  offer  a  way  of  escape  from  death.  In  times 
of  old  there  were  fabled  fountains  of  perpetual  youth,  the  creat- 
ures of  man's  imagination;  and  many  a  man  spent  his  fortune 
and  wore  out  his  life  searching  for  such  a  fountain  in  the  wilder- 
ness. But  all  in  vain.  No  mere  man  has  ever  yet  solved  the 
mystery,  how  to  escape  death. 

But  is  there  then  no  escape  from  death?  Yes,  the  mystery 
is  solved.  God  himself  has  solved  it  for  us.  He  has  pointed  us  to 
the  tree  of  life,  that  we  may  eat  of  its  fruits  and  live  forever. 
He  has  pointed  us  to  the  fountain  of  life,  that  we  may  bathe  in 
its  waters  and  escape  death.  Let  us  hear  the  solution  for  the 
mystery  of  death  as  it  is  given  us  in  our  text.  *'But  the  gift  of 
God  is  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

To  receive  eternal  life  means  to  escape  death  entirely.  This, 
our  text  says,  is  a  gift  of  God.  God  is  the  only  one  who  has 
power  over  death.  Death  tyrannizes  over  all  others;  but  God  is 
the  Lord  over  death.  When  God  speaks  the  word,  death  must 
obey.  It  is  in  the  hand  of  God  alone  to  deliver  us  from  death 
entirely  and  grant  us  eternal  life. 

Let  us  now  hear  from  our  text  how  God  delivers  us  from 
death.  It  is  all  contained  in  these  words:  "Through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."  ''The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is 
the  law."  Jesus  by  his  perfect  life  in  this  world  entirely  fulfilled 
the  law  of  God  for  us.  Thereby  he  robbed  sin  of  its  power.  He 
shed  his  precious  blood  in  order  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  the 
world  and  thereby  robbed  death  of  its  sting.  He  arose  from  the 
grave  and  thereby  triumphed  over  death.   He  made  himself  the 


100  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

Master  and  Lord  over  death.  He  destroyed  death  for  us.  ''0 
death,  where  is  thy  sting?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?  The 
sting  of  death  is  sin;  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  But 
thanks  be  to  God  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 

It  remains  for  us  to  accept  in  true  faith  this  victory  over 
death  which  Christ  won  for  us.  If  we  do  so  we  are  delivered  from 
death.  The  Savior  himself  says:  ''I  am  the  resurrection  and  the 
life.  He  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he 
live;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die." 
A  bodily  death  indeed  still  awaits  even  those  who  believe  in 
Christ.  But  it  is  hardly  any  more  worthy  of  the  name  death. 
It  has  become  merely  a  means  of  delivering  us  from  the  tribula- 
tions of  this  earthly  life.  It  has  become  simply  a  gateway  by 
which  we  pass  from  this  wretched  life  here  below  into  the  glories 
of  the  eternal  life  above.  This  bodily  death  is  no  longer  our 
enemy.  It  has  become  a  dear  friend  unto  us ;  for  it  is  the  means 
through  which  we  enter  into  heaven.  Death  may  sometimes  seem 
to  be  a  dark  and  dismal  gateway.  When  we  examine  it  we  find 
that  the  vines  which  entwine  its  pillars  are  covered  with  many 
cruel  thorns.  But  when  we  open  the  gate  and  enter,  we  find  that 
it  leads  into  a  most  beautiful  garden,  the  garden  of  God,  paradise. 

Our  dear  brother  who  has  now  been  taken  from  us  had  solved 
the  mystery  of  death  long  before  his  departure.  He  was  not 
afraid  of  death.  He  knew  that  God  had  given  him  the  victory 
over  death  through  Jesus  Christ  his  Lord.  He  had  triumphed  over 
death.  When  the  hour  came  for  him  to  depart  he  peacefully  fell 
asleep  in  the  full  assurance  that  he  was  going  home  to  be  with  his 
heavenly  Father.  A  Christian  father  once  lay  dying.  His  chil- 
dren, all  grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood,  stood  around  him 
weeping.  He  said  to  them:  ''My  dear  children,  when  you  were 
little  ones  I  often  carried  you  up  to  bed  and  kissed  you  good- 
night as  I  laid  you  to  rest.  Were  you  afraid  then?"  The  childreD 


THE    MYSTERY    OF    DEATH    SOLVED  IQl 

answered:  "No,  father,  we  were  not  afraid.  We  knew  that  we 
were  going  to  sleep  just  for  the  night,  and  that  we  would  awaken 
again  in  the  morning  to  enjoy  your  love  and  tender  care." 
''Just  so,"  the  father  replied,  ''my  Heavenly  Father  is  now 
laying  me  to  sleep.  I  am  not  afraid.  There  is  no  cause  for  fear  or 
sadness.  I  will  peacefully  sleep  during  the  night ;  on  the  glorious 
resurrection  morning  I  will  awaken  again  to  enjoy  the  loving 
kindness  of  my  Heavenly  Father  forever." 

Such  was  the  death  of  our  dear  brother.  He  was  not  afraid  of 
death;  for  he  had  solved  the  mystery  of  death.  He  knew  that  a 
complete  deliverance  from  death  was  his  through  Christ  Jesus. 
Even  in  his  death  he  was  triumphant  over  death. 

Dear  friends,  let  his  faith  be  your  comfort.  Imitate  him  also  in 
his  faith.  Trust  in  God  and  in  Jesus  Christ  your  Savior  as  he  did. 
Like  him  show  your  faith  also  in  your  manner  of  life. 

Death  may  still  have  many  mysteries  for  you,  mysteries  which 
we  cannot  solve  now.  You  may  ask:  Why  was  it  done  just  so? 
Why  did  God  take  our  beloved  father  away  from  us  just  at  this  time 
when  we  still  stood  so  much  in  need  of  him?  We  know  that  he  is 
much  happier  now;  but  he  certainly  would  have  been  willing  to 
live  with  us  yet  for  many  years.  Why  did  not  God  permit  him  to 
stay  with  us?  Why  did  God  require  him  to  endure  such  severe 
sufferings  before  his  departure?  These  things  we  cannot  answer. 
These  are  mysteries.  But  only  believe.  J*ut  all  of  your  trust  in 
God  and  trust  all  things  in  his  hands.  The  day  will  finally  come 
when  you  shall  be  reunited  with  this  dear  brother  and  father  in 
the  presence  of  God  in  glory.  On  that  great  day  you  shall  see  all 
of  these  things  clearly.  Then  all  of  the  mysteries  of  death  will  be 
solved.    Amen. 


THE  WORD  OP  GOD  AS  THE  ONLY  SOURCE   OP  TRUE 
COMPORT  IN  APFLICTION 

By  Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 

"Unless  thy  law  had  been  my  delights,  I  should  then  have  perished  in 
mine  affliction." — Psalm  119:  92. 

Occasion:  For  a  Christian  Husband,  Father  and  Brother 

Dear  Christians  and  Mourning  Ftiends : 

We  often  meet  in  the  house  of  God.  In  fact  we  can  truly  say 
with  the  psalmist:  ''How  amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of 
hosts !  My  soul  longeth,  yea,  even  f ainteth  for  the  courts  of  the 
Lord:  my  heart  and  my  flesh  crieth  out  for  the  living  God"  (Ps. 
84:  1,  2).  But  today  our  meeting  here  is  not  a  joyful  one.  We 
have  been  called  together  by  the  voice  of  death.  We  have  met  for 
a  funeral  service.  Our  object  in  coming  here  is  not  simply  to  do 
honor  to  the  memory  of  the  departed  and  to  express  our  sympa- 
thy with  his  bereaved  family  but  to  ojffer  them  true  comfort  as 
this  flows  from  the  never-failing  fountain  of  God^s  Word.  What 
would  we  do  in  the  face  of  death  without  the  Word  of  God  ?  Our 
text  says:  "Unless  thy  law  had  been  my  delights,  I  should  then 
have  perished  in  mine  affliction."  And  this  well  expresses  the 
experience  of  every  mourning  Christian.  We  know,  my  friends, 
that  this  is  a  sad  hour  for  you.  To  bid  a  last  farewell  to  a  loving 
husband,  a  kind  father  and  an  affectionate  brother  and  son  is  no 
easy  task.  No  wonder  that  your  eyes  overflow  with  tears  and 
your  hearts  bleed.  But  you  are  not  without  comfort  in  this  hour 
of  affliction.  God's  Word  is  full  of  comfort  to  mourning  Chris- 
tians. Yes,  it  is  the  only  source  of  all  true  comfort.  Let  me  direct 
your  attention  today  to 

102 


WORD    OF   GOD   SOURCE   OF   COMFORT  IQS 

The  Word  of  God  as  the  Only  Source  of  True  Comfort  in 

Affliction 

In  considering  this  subject  let  me  endeavor  to  show  you 

I.  How  true  this  is,  and 
II.  To  what  it  should  move  us. 


It  is  not  unusual,  when  death  has  visited  a  home,  for  friends, 
neighbors  and  relatives  to  gather  in  and  offer  sympathy  and 
comfort.  Some  will  say:  ''Suffering  is  inevitable  in  this  imperfect 
world.  It  is  something  we  must  expect.  It  comes  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  nature.  We  must  expect  to  part  sooner  or  later.  We 
cannot  live  always."  Others  will  remind  you  of  the  fact  that 
suffering  is  universal.  No  one  escapes  it  entirely,  although  some 
seem  to  suffer  more  than  others.  Yours  is  the  common  experience 
of  all  men.  You  are  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  Yea,  others 
must  even  carry  heavier  loads  than  you.  If  you  knew  what  others 
suffer  you  would  consider  your  own  load  light.  Then  again,  you 
will  be  reminded  of  the  fact  that  time  heals  all  wounds.  You  will 
not  always  feel  as  sad  as  you  do  now.  In  time  your  sorrow  will 
cease,  at  least  in  part,  and  you  will  again  be  able  to  enjoy  your- 
selves. The  wounds  will  heal,  although  they  may  leave  a  scar. 

But  I  hear  you  say:  There  is  little  comfort  in  all  this.  You 
feel  like  saying  as  Job  did  to  his  friends :  ' '  Miserable  comforters 
are  ye  all"  (Job  16:  2).  There  is  little  or  no  comfort  in  all  such 
considerations.  They  are  truths  that  cannot  be  denied,  but  they 
leave  the  heart  cold.  It  would  be  sad  indeed  if  we  had  nothing 
better  to  offer  our  mourning  friends  today.  This  is  no  balm  for 
bleeding  hearts. 

But  thanks  be  to  God  we  have  something  better  to  offer  when 
death  enters  a  Christian  home.  God  in  his  Word  offers  true  com- 
fort ;  comfort  which  really  conjf orts,  balm  that  heals.  In  the  first 


104 


FUNEEAL   SERMONS 


place  it  assures  us  that  those  who  die  in  the  faith  of  Jesus  are  not 
lost  but  saved.  The  world  may  say:  You  have  lost  a  husband, 
brother,  father,  son.  But  God's  Word  says :  '' Blessed  are  the  dead 
which  die  in  the  Lord,  from  henceforth,  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
they  may  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works  do  follow  them" 
(Rev.  14:  13).  We  mourn  over  our  dead  but  if  we  could  realize 
that  those  who  die  in  the  true  faith  are  at  home  with  the  Lord 
and  inexpressibly  happy  we  would  shed  no  tears  but  those  of  joy. 
The  Savior  said  to  the  malefactor  on  the  cross  beside  him :  * '  This 
day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise."  Paradise  is  heaven,  a 
place  of  perfect  and  eternal  happiness.  ''God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes,  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither 
sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain :  for  the 
former  things  are  passed  away"  (Rev.  21:  4).  Our  loss  is  their 
gain.  They  have  reached  the  end  of  life's  pilgrimage  and  have 
entered  into  the  rest  of  God's  children.  Their  warfare  is  over 
and  they  now  enjoy  the  victory  for  which  they  strove.  Their 
labors  are  at  an  end  and  they  enjoy  sweet  rest  in  heaven. 

We  lay  the  mortal  bodies  of  our  beloved  ones  in  the  grave 
where  they  must  return  to  dust  and  ashes ;  for  ''Dust  thou  art  and 
unto  dust  shalt  thou  return"  (Gen.  3:  19).  Since  the  fall,  this  is 
the  inexorable  law  of  nature.  When  our  friends  die  we  must 
hasten  to  bury  their  remains  for  in  but  a  few  days  they  would  be 
objects  of  abhorrence  and  a  menace  to  all  who  came  in  contact 
with  them.  But  God's  Word  offers  us  the  blessed  comfort  that 
the  dead  shall  arise,  and  accordingly  we  confess  in  the  Creed:  "I 
believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body."  The  apostle  says:  "The 
dead  in  Christ  shall  arise"  (I  Thess.  4:  16).  The  Savior  himself 
says:  "The  hour  is  coming  in  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves 
shall  hear  his  voice  and  shall  come  forth,  they  that  have  done 
good  unto  the  resurrection  of  life"  (John  5:  28,  29).  This  is  not 
the  last  time  you  expect  to  look  upon  the  face  of  your  beloved. 
You  hope  to  see  him  again  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord  on  that 


WORD   OF   GOD   SOURCE   OF   COMFORT  105 

last  great  day  when  death  and  the  grave  shall  give  up  their  prey. 
And  with  what  bodies  will  they  arise  ?  Not  with  such  poor,  sickly, 
wasted  bodies  as  they  had  in  this  world,  but  with  glorified 
bodies.  St.  Paul  says:  "For  our  conversation  is  in  heaven,  from 
whence  also  we  look  for  the  Savior,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  who 
shall  change  our  vile  body,  that  it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his 
glorious  body,  according  to  the  mighty  working  whereby  he  is 
able  to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself"  (Phil  3:  21). 

Then  besides  this,  God's  Word  assures  us  that  whatever  befalls 
us  in  this  world  must,  by  the  overruling  providence  of  God,  be 
for  our  good.  For  ' '  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God"  (Rom.  8:  28).  When  Joseph's  brethren  sold  him  into 
slavery  in  Egypt  it  must  have  seemed  about  the  worst  thing  that 
could  have  befallen  him,  and  yet  years  after  he  could  cheerfully 
say:  "Ye  thought  evil  against  me,  but  God  meant  it  unto  good" 
(Gen.  50:  20).  We  are,  even  in  our  saddest  experiences,  under 
God's  all- wise  and  merciful  providence.  He  never  allows  us  to  be 
tempted  above  what  we  are  able  to  bear.  He  can  bring  good  out 
of  evil.  What  seem  our  most  painful  experiences  will  in  the  end 
turn  out  to  be  our  greatest  blessings.  God  may  lay  the  rod  of 
affliction  upon  us,  but  he  never  does  so  from  hatred  but  rather 
from  love.  "For  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he  chasteneth,  and 
scourgeth  every  son  whom  he  receiveth"  (Heb.  12:  6).  So  God's 
Word  is  full  of  rich  comfort  in  affliction,  yea,  it  is  the  only  source 
of  all  true  comfort. 

Having  seen  how  true  this  is,  let  us  now  also  in  the  second 
place  consider: 

II. 

To  what  it  should  move  us:  First  of  all  we  should  ourselves 
make  faithful  use  of  the  Word  of  God  when  we  are  afflicted. 
What  would  you  say  of  a  person  who  is  hungry  and  has  plenty  of 
food,  good,  nourishing  food,  but  refuses  to  eat  ?  What  would  you 


X06  rUNERAL     SERMONS 

say  of  a  person  who  is  sick  and  has  the  proper  remedy  to  cure 
his  diseases  but  fails  to  apply  it  ?  Would  not  this  be  the  height  of 
folly  ?  Then  what  else  are  true  Christians  doing  when  in  affliction 
they  fail  to  apply  and  take  to  heart  the  sweet  comfort  which 
God's  Word  offers  them?  My  friends,  it  is  but  natural  for  us  to 
weep  and  mourn  when  death  separates  us,  even  though  but  tem- 
porarily, from  our  loved  ones.  We  are  weak  flesh  and  blood  and 
cannot  but  feel  sad  when  death  tears  asunder  the  tenderest  bonds 
of  blood  and  friendship.  But  let  us  not  weep  and  mourn  as 
though  we  had  no  hope.  Let  the  infidel  howl  and  lament.  Let  the 
atheist  wring  his  hands  in  despair.  Let  those  who  live  in  the  world 
without  God  despair  in  the  face  of  death;  for  they  are  without 
hope  and  the  future  is  full  of  dark  forebodings.  They  tremble  at 
what  may  possibly  come  after  death.  But  such  conduct  does  not 
become  Christians  who  know  and  appreciate  the  sweet  comfort 
which  God's  Word  offers  in  the  face  of  death.  Present  these  pre- 
cious truths  to  your  minds.  Call  to  remembrance  what  you  have 
been  taught,  what  you  have  read  of  the  Gospel  promises,  and  the 
word  of  the  Savior  shall  be  fulfilled  in  your  own  experience: 
** Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall  be  comforted'* 
(Matt.  5:4). 

0  how  anxious  we  should  be  to  store  our  minds  with  the  com- 
forting assurances  of  the  Gospel  so  that  in  the  day  of  trouble  we 
may  draw  upon  this  never-failing  source  of  true  comfort.  How 
careful  we  should  be  to  read  and  hear  the  Word  and  above  all  to 
keep  it,  for:  '' Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  Word  of  God  and 
keep  it"  (Luke  11:  28).  How  zealous  we  should  be  to  have  our 
children  memorize  such  comforting  passages  of  Scripture  so  that 
when  their  day  of  affliction  comes,  it  may  not  find  them  comfort- 
less. The  more  thoroughly  we  live  ourselves  into  the  Word  of 
God  and  make  its  truths  our  own,  the  better  will  we  be  able  to 
withstand  the  fiery  darts  of  Satan  in  the  hour  of  trial.  Do  not 
allow  the  clouds  of  adversity  to  hide  from  you  the  smiling  face 


WORD    OF    GOD    SOURCE    OF    COMFORT  107 

of  your  heavenly  Father;  for  "behind  a  frowning  providence  he 
hides  a  smiling  face." 

Then  there  is  another  thing  to  which  the  fact  that  God's  Word 
is  the  only  source  of  true  comfort  in  affliction  should  move  us  and 
that  is  to  offer  this  comfort  to  our  friends  when  they  are  in 
trouble.  It  does  the  troubled  heart  good  to  be  assured  of  the 
sympathy  of  dear  friends.  It  seems  to  lighten  the  load  when 
others  join  in  carrying  it.  Christians  should  not  be  cold  and 
indifferent  to  each  other's  afflictions.  We  are  all  members  one  of 
another  and  "Whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer 
with  it"  (I  Cor.  12:  26).  Any  injury  inflicted  on  any  member  of 
the  body  is  felt  by  every  other  member.  Let  a  little  grain  of  dust 
fall  into  the  eye  and  the  whole  body  is  disturbed  in  sympathy 
with  the  afflicted  member. 

But  let  us  do  more  than  merely  express  our  smpathy.  Let 
us  offer  substantial  comfort.  Why  should  the  pastor  be  the  only 
one  who  is  able  to  offer  the  comfort  of  the  Word  of  God?  Why 
should  not  one  fellow  Christian  offer  to  another  the  cup  of  com- 
fort from  the  living  fountain  of  the  Gospel?  Do  not  be  timid 
about  confessing  your  faith  on  such  an  occasion.  Let  the  convic- 
tion of  your  heart  find  expression  in  words  which  will  act  as  a 
healing  balm  to  bleeding  hearts.  Our  church  members  are  too 
often  slow  to  speak  when  it  comes  to  comforting  those  who 
mourn  over  the  death  of  their  loved  ones.  They  are  like  Job's 
friends  of  whom  it  is  said  that ' '  They  sat  down  with  him  upon  the 
ground  seven  days  and  seven  nights,  and  none  spoke  a  word  unto 
him:  for  they  saw  that  his  grief  was  very  great"  (Job  2:  13). 
If  we  have  experienced  the  true  comfort  of  the  Word  of  God  in 
our  own  hearts  under  affliction,  let  us  not  be  slow  to  offer  it  to 
others. 

This  is  the  object  of  our  meeting  here  today.  The  congregation 
by  the  mouth  of  its  pastor  offers  to  our  mourning  friends  the  true 
comfort  of  God's  Word.   Let  me  assure  you,  dear  friends,  that  I 


IQ^  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

speak  in  the  name  of  all  your  brethren  and  sisters  when  I  say 
to  you  with  the  Savior:  "Weep  not"  (Luke  7;  13).  And  words 
of  comfort  will  be  spoken  from  this  pulpit  Sunday  after  Sunday. 
See  to  it  that  you  come  to  hear  them.  They  will  do  you  good. 
The  preaching  of  the  Gospel  will  help  you  bear  your  troubles 
more  patiently.  It  will  save  you  from  hopeless  despair.  It  is  the 
day-star  from  on  high  lighting  our  way  through  this  vale  of  tears 
until  we  reach  the  true  home  of  God's  children  in  heaven. 

"Blessed  are  the  meek  and  contrite, 
Who    in   Jesus   fall   asleep, 
Blessed  where   the   saints  forever 
Their   untiring  vigils   keep. 
They  are  from  their  labors  resting, 
God  has  wiped  away  their  tears. 
They  are  dwelling  in  the  kingdom. 
Free  from  all  their  sins  and  fears." 

Amen. 


THE   HEAVENLY  EMIGRANT 
By  Rev.  Frederick  B.  Clausen 

"For  we  know  that  if  our  eartMy  house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dis- 
solved, we  have  a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens.  For  in  this  we  groan,  earnestly  desiring  to  be  clothed 
upon  with  our  house  which  is  from  heaven;  if  so  be  that  being  clothed  we 
shall  not  be  found  naked.  For  we  that  are  in  this  tabernacle  do  groan, 
being  burdened:  not  for  that  we  would  be  unclothed,  but  clothed  upon, 
that  mortality  might  be  swallowed  up  of  life.  Now  he  that  hath  wrought 
us  for  the  selfsame  thing  is  God,  who  hath  also  given  unto  us  the  earnest 
of  the  Spirit.  Therefore  we  are  always  confident,  knowing  that,  whilst  we 
are  at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord:  (For  we  walk  by 
faith,  not  by  sight:)  We  are  confident,  I  say,  and  willing  rather  to  be 
absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord.  Wherefore  we 
labour,  that,  whether  present  or  absent,  we  may  be  accepted  of  him." — 
II  Cor.  5:  1-9. 

Occasion:  A  middle-aged  man  whose  consistent,  Christian  life 

greatly  endeared  him  to  his  family  and  congregation  and 

also  won  for  him  the  respect  of  his  business  associates 

We  are  face  to  face  with  a  great  mystery.  Question  crowds 
question,  but  only  bewilders,  confuses  and  deepens  the  silent 
gloom.  The  pain-throbbing  heart  is  hungering  for  comfort.  Hu- 
man weakness  and  frailty  so  convincingly  brought  home,  look 
for  a  rod  and  staff  to  lean  upon.  The  American  poet  in  his  classic 
effusion  counsels  thus: 

''When  thoughts  of  the  last  bitter  hour  come  like  a  blight 
Over  thy  spirit,  and  sad  images 
Of  the  stern  agony,  and  shroud,  and  pall, 
And  breathless  darkness,  and  the  narrow  house, 

109 


IIQ  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

Make  thee  to  shudder,  and  grow  sick  at  heart, — 
Go  forth,  under  the  open   sky,  and  list 
To   Nature's  teachings,   while   from   all   around — 
Eiarth,  and  her  waters,  and  the  depths  of  air, — 
Comes  a  still  voice — Yet  a  few  days,  and  thee 
The  all-beholding  sun  shall  see  no  more 

In  all  his  course 

Earth,  that  nourished  thee,  shall  claim 

Thy  growth,  to  be  resolved  to  earth  again." 

I  call  this  giving  a  stone  for  bread  and  scorpions  for  fish.  But 
this  is  the  philosophy  of  man,  the  creed  of  materialism,  the  only 
comfort  (?)  of  unbelief.  With  relief  we  turn  from  man  and 
nature  to  our  Bible,  and  lo,  "earth's  shadows  flee  and  heaven's 
bright  morning  breaks."  For  here  in  our  text  we  have  the  reitera- 
tion of  the  blessed  truth  spread  over  all  the  pages  of  the  Bible  : 
1.  There  are  no  dead!  Language  is  so  confusing  and  often 
contradictory  of  the  faith  we  confess.  We,  the  person,  the  ego, 
must  be  dissociated  from  the  body  or  form  given  for  making 
self  known  and  expressing  self  in  this  world  of  material  things. 
This  body  or  shell  is  swallowed  up  by  the  grave,  but  the  immor- 
tal tenant,  death,  cannot  harm;  it  can  only  serve  him.  We  are 
met,  not  to  mourn  a  death,  but  to  sorrow  for  the  temporary  loss 
we  have  sustained  by  the  removal  from  this  world  to  heaven  of 
a  dear  and  esteemed  person.  He  has  emigrated  from  the  vale  of 
shadows,  sorrows  and  disappointments  to  the  highlands  of  un- 
clouded happiness  and  endless  vision.  Dead?  Never!  God,  his 
Father,  to  whom  he  was  given  in  holy  baptism  and  whom  he 
endeavored  to  serve  in  this  world,  has  sent  his  beautiful  mes- 
senger to  invite  him  to  the  mansion  which  the  Savior  prepared 
for  him  and  all  who  love  his  appearance.  Therefore  he  was  in  a 
strait  betwixt  two  :  he  loved  us  and  could  not  ask  to  have  the 
bonds  of  flesh  cut  which  bound  him  to  us.  But  he  loved  Jesus 
and  would  see  him  face  to  face  and  sing  the  praises  of  the  Lamb 
with  that  great  company  on  high  which  no  man  can  number. 


THE  HEAVENLY  EMIGRANT         HI 

And  we  also  find  ourselves  in  a  strait  betwixt  two :  We  loved  him. 
He  was  such  a  Christian  gentleman.  His  place  will  be  hard  to 
fill.  But  is  our  love  so  selfish  that  it  would  bring  him  back  to  his 
suffering,  to  this  world  of  sin,  to  all  that  cramps  and  keeps  us 
from  happiness?  Come,  let  us  think  less  of  our  loss  and  more 
of  his  gain.  Take  to  heart  the  blessed  comfort : 

''There  is  no  death!     The  stars  go  down 
To  rise  upon   some  other   shore, 
And  bright  in  Heaven's  jewelled  crown 
They  shine   f orevermore. " 

2.  Behold,  he  whom  we  mourn  as  dead,  has  moved,  according 
to  the  inspired  statement  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  ^'from  the  earthly- 
house  of  this  tabernacle  to  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens."  This  house  crumbles  and  decays,  the  fire  we 
call  death  consumes  it,  but  not  him,  the  person,  the  soul  we  loved. 

Paul  speaks  of  the  body  as  a  tabernacle  or  tent.  It  is  lan- 
guage conveying  the  sense  of  temporariness,  weakness,  lack  of 
durability.  Lest  we  forget,  the  great  Apostle  reminds  us  of  the 
suffering  and  humiliation  that  this  tabernacle  of  the  body  occa- 
sions. ''For  in  this  Ave  groan."  "We  that  are  in  this  tabernacle 
do  groan,  being  burdened."  Men  suffer  unspeakable  agony  and 
pain  and  most  of  these  experiences  arise  from  the  body.  The 
tabernacle  is  constantly  decaying  and  exposing  the  spirit  to  the 
untoward  world  and  the  groans  of  the  martyred  spirit  arise  to 
heaven.  From  such  tyranny  and  humiliation  it  must  be  redemp- 
tion to  be  released.  Like  the  ancient  Jews  returning  from  the 
Babylonian  exile,  the  heavenly  emigrant,  released  from  the  thral- 
dom of  the  earthly  tabernacle  may  sing:  ''When  the  Lord  turned 
again  the  captivity  of  Zion,  we  were  like  them  that  dream.  Then 
was  our  mouth  filled  with  laughter,  and  our  tongue  with  singing. ' ' 

We  would  not  despise  this  body.  It  is  God's  wonderful  gift  and 
precious  trust.  It  is  the  means  of  association  with  the  dear  ones 
at  home  and  our  friends.  This  fact,  perhaps,  more  than  any  other, 


112  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

makes  us  cling  desperately  to  it.  We  know  not  how  a  bodiless 
spirit  can  commune  with  spirits  in  the  body.  But  ''while  we  are 
at  home  in  the  body,  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord. ' '  This  earthly 
tabernacle  cannot  enter  heaven,  as  "flesh  and  blood  cannot  in- 
herit the  kingdom  of  God."  How  difficult  it  is  even  to  commune 
with  God,  with  the  awful  drag  of  this  body,  to  draw  near  to  him 
in  worship  at  the  infrequent  periods  which  we  set  aside  for  that 
purpose.  Even  devout  Christians  must  confess :  ' '  Our  souls,  how 
heavily  they  go  to  reach  eternal  joys."  ''The  spirit  is  willing 
but  the  flesh  is  weak."  Like  Martha,  so  many  of  us  are  careful 
and  cumbered  with  many  things  so  that  we  also  often  forget 
the  one  thing  needed.  Lives  there  a  child  of  God,  unspoiled  and 
loving,  who  will  not  say  with  Paul:  "We  are  willing  rather  to 
be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord." 

"To  die  is  gain"  in  every  way.  Does  death  carry  us  out  of 
the  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  ?  Only  to  lead  us,  if  we  served 
God  in  this  earthly  tent,  to  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eter- 
nal in  the  heavens.  For  this  body  of  corruption  we  are  given  one 
of  incorruption.  God  exchanges  rags  of  mortality  for  the  robe 
of  immortality.  The  image  of  the  earthy  which  we  have  worn  is 
.broken  that  we  might  have  completely  restored  the  image  of 
God  in  which  he  made  man  at  the  beginning.  Could  we  see  our 
dear  ones  who  have  made  this  change  we  could  scarcely  recog- 
nize them — so  transfigured  would  they  be.  That  is  all  we  know 
and  can  faintly  express  concerning  the  body  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. Even  Paul,  who  has  much  to  say  of  this  earthly  taber- 
nacle, makes  only  the  statement  of  the  fact  concerning  the  home 
on  high.  The  reason  is  at  hand :  "Eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard, 
neither  hath  entered  the  heart  of  man  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  him." 

''What  shall  bef    What  shall  be? 
All  the  joys  laid  up  for  me? 
Lord,  I  know  not;   eyes  are  holden 


THE   HEAVENLY   EMIGRANT  113 

'Til  Jerusalem  the  golden 
In  its  glory  I  shall  see." 

''I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  thy  likeness." 

3.  Sinister  doubt  now  raises  its  head  and  says:  All  this  is 
beautiful  and  much  to  be  desired,  but,  is  it  true?  How  do  I 
know  that  you  are  not  drawing  upon  a  vivid  imagination  or  de- 
scribing a  dream,  beautiful,  consoling,  but  only  a  dream  to  be 
dissipated  upon  awaking?  Paul  anticipates  such  doubting  ques- 
tions. This  is  his  answer:  "Now  he  that  hath  wrought  us  for 
the  selfsame  thing  is  God,  who  also  hath  given  unto  us  the  ear- 
nest of  the  Spirit."  I  forbear  to  dwell  upon  the  first  argument, 
the  evident  design  of  God  in  creating  man,  not  to  be  lost  with  the 
earthly  tabernacle  and  be  resolved  to  earth  again,  but  for  eter- 
nity, for  ''He  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead  but  of  the  living,  for  in 
him  they  all  live."  May  it  suffice  us  that  he  has  given  us  the  ''ear- 
nest of  his  Spirit."  "Earnest"  is  a  word  which  once  was  used 
for  the  purpose  for  which  we  today  employ  the  expression  "de- 
posit." In  the  language  of  business  it  means  the  payment  of  a 
small  sum  to  guarantee  the  payment  in  full  when  the  time  comes 
to  complete  the  deal.  This  deposit  is  the  assurance  that  a  person 
is  in  earnest,  means  to  do  what  he  says  or  promises.  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  God's  deposit  in  our  souls  to  prove  that  he  will  fulfil 
all  that  he  has  promised  concerning  our  eternal  redemption.  That 
Spirit  brings  us  to  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  preserves  us  in  the  true 
faith  and  sanctifies  us  through  that  faith,  sealing  us  unto  the 
day  of  full  redemption.  Through  the  same  Spirit  we  are  able 
to  commune  with  God,  although  he  is  a  Spirit  and  we  are  in  the 
flesh.  This  communion  on  earth  through  prayer  and  worship  is 
but  a  faint  foretaste  of  the  blessed  and  perfect  communion  in 
heaven  when  the  limitations  of  this  earthly  house  will  have  been 
removed. 

Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these  thoughts.  Instead 
of  plying  our  perplexed  minds  with  questions  beyond  that  which 


114  ^    FUNEEAL    SERMONS 

God  has  graciously  revealed  to  us,  or  giving  way  to  brooding 
sorrow  like  those  who  have  no  hope,  let  us  go  back  to  our  homes 
and  occupations  with  the  parting  advice  of  God's  servant  as  the 
watchword  of  our  lives:  ''Wherefore  we  labour,  that,  whether 
present  or  absent,  we  may  be  accepted  of  him."  How  soon  sor- 
row will  lose  its  poignancy  and  the  silent  home  and  empty  chair 
cease  to  make  the  wound  to  smart  if  our  thoughts  and  affections 
were  more  centered  on  God  and  the  ambition  of  being  found  ac- 
ceptable to  him.  Is  he  not  the  bond  that  binds  the  saints  in 
heaven  to  us  on  earth  ?  Do  not  we,  his  children,  live  unto  him  and 
die  unto  him?  Blessed  sorrow  that  opens  our  eyes  to  this  trysting 
place  for  the  dear  one  gone  on  ahead  and  us  lingering  behind,  even 
God.  If  we  have  opened  our  hearts  to  God's  word,  then  our  de- 
parted friend  has  done  us  one  more  and  lasting  service,  for 
through  his  grave,  as  a  window,  we  have  looked  into  eternity  and 
strengthened  ourselves  for  the  few  miles  we  must  wander  in  the 
wilderness  ere  we,  too,  may  embark  for  the  fatherland  on  high. 
And  when 

''From  out  our  bourne  of  time  and  place 
The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  know  I'll  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 
When  I  have  crossed  the  bar." 


WHAT   MUST    I    DO    TO    BE    SAVED? 
By  Rev.  L.  H.  Schuh,  Ph.  D. 

* '  And  (he)  brought  them  out  and  said,  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved? 
And  they  said.  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved 
and  thy  house."— Acts  16:  30.  31. 

Occasion :  Used  at  the  funeral  of  a  worldly-minded  man  who 
repented  shortly  before  his  death 

Christian  Friends,  but  especially  mourning  Family: 

The  choice  of  this  text  was  determined  by  a  recent  visit  to  the 
departed.  During  the  last  weeks  of  his  life  I  had  frequently  called 
on  him  in  a  pastoral  way.  At  all  of  these  visits  I  was  more  than 
welcome.  Last  week  while  standing  by  his  bedside  and  talking 
with  him  about  death  and  the  life  to  come  and  comforting  him 
with  the  salvation  in  Jesus,  he  said:  *'What  must  I  do?"  He  was 
referred  to  this  passage  and  the  circumstances  that  called  it 
forth  and  he  received  the  biblical  answer  to  his  question.  He 
was  a  seeker  after  the  truth  in  these  last  weeks  of  his  life.  He 
acknowledged  very  frankly  that  he  had  made  a  mistake  by  stand- 
ing aloof  from  the  church  and  he  regretted  that  he  could  no 
longer  take  part  in  its  work.  His  estimate  of  himself  he  ex- 
pressed in  these  words:  "I  think  that  I  have  been  a  good  citi- 
zen, but  I  have  been  a  poor  Christian."  When  he  was  asked 
whether  at  his  funeral  it  might  be  stated  that  he  had  regretted 
this  mistake  he  said:  "Tell  my  friends,  and  tell  them  to  be 
different." 

Thank  God  that  even  in  the  eleventh  hour  the  departed  ac- 
cepted the  salvation  in  Christ.  Today  we  publish  it  here  for  the 
glory  of  God.    "Jesus  sinners  will  receive."    According  to  his 

115 


X16  FUNEBAL   SERMONS 

own  words  he  found  this  salvation  "like  rain  upon  parched 
ground."  And  we  add :  "There  is  joy  in  the  presence  of  God  over 
one  sinner  that  repenteth."  "What  an  answer  this  conversion 
is  to  the  many  prayers  sent  up  in  this  home  for  his  soul.  What 
an  effect  this  ought  to  have  on  his  associates  and  neighbors  who 
are  still  halting  between  two  opinions. 

The  greatest  question  of  life  confronted  this  brother  on  his 
death-bed. 

What  Must  I  Do  to  Be  Saved? 

I.  What  gives  rise  to  this  question?  No  man  seriously  asks 
this  question  until  he  realizes  that  he  is  in  sin,  that  in  that  condi- 
tion he  is  not  acceptable  to  a  righteous  God  and  that  he  cannot 
help  himself. 

This  question  indicates  alarm.  It  is  raised  only  in  a  soul 
that  has  a  deep  conviction  of  sin.  You  can  only  save  what  is 
in  danger,  or  lost.  You  save  a  burning  building,  a  drowning 
man  or  a  lost  child.  The  house  that  is  not  exposed  to  fire,  the 
man  that  walks  on  solid  ground,  the  child  that  sleeps  in  its 
mother's  arms  are  not  in  need  of  help. 

Men  do  not  raise  this  question  as  long  as  they  depend  on 
civil  righteousness.  How  many  are  blinded  by  it!  Because  men 
are  good  citizens,  trusted  friends,  loving  husbands  and  fathers, 
they  think  that  God  must  be  satisfied  with  them.  Because  they 
have  a  good  name  in  a  community  and  have  promoted  worthy 
causes  and  have  endeared  themselves  to  their  families,  they  think 
that  they  must  be  be  acceptable  to  God. 

But  what  a  distorted  conception  they  have  of  God!  He  can- 
not be  holy ;  he  must  wink  at  sin ;  he  must  be  endowed  w^ith  human 
attributes  and  weaknesses;  he  cannot  be  righteous  and  just.  The 
Pharisee  who  went  up  into  the  temple  to  pray  was  so  well  pleased 
with  himself  because  he  measured  his  worth  by  a  wrong  stand- 
ard. He  said :  "  I  thank  thee,  God,  that  I  am  not  like  other  men, ' ' 


WHAT    MUST    I   DO    TO    BE    SAVED?  II7 

and  then  he  chose  even  the  lowest  class,  ''adulterers,  fornicators, 
or  even  this  publican."  He  had  the  wrong  standard,  therefore  he 
appeared  so  well.  Had  he  taken  God  for  his  standard,  not  as 
sinful  men,  following  the  light  of  their  own  minds,  picture  him, 
but  as  the  Bible  reveals  him,  he  would  have  hidden  his  face  in 
shame. 

Our  brother  found  this  civil  righteousness  satisfactory  in  life 
because  he  banished  from  his  mind  the  true  conception  of  God. 
He  worshiped  a  God  of  his  own  making.  He  set  up  his  own 
standards  and  ideals  and  as  he  made  them  low  enough  he  meas- 
ured up  to  them  fairly  well.  He  leaned  on  that  staff  many  years 
while  enjoying  good  health  and  when  no  serious  thought  of 
death  and  judgment  and  the  life  to  come  ever  confronted  him. 
But  when  the  test  came  the  staff  was  weak ;  it  bent ;  it  broke  and 
left  him  without  support. 

When  he  came  to  examine  his  life  under  the  searchlight  of  the 
law  of  God  he  saw  himself  in  a  new  light.  God  was  no  longer  an 
imperfect  man,  but  a  being  whose  holiness  and  righteousness  and 
justice  were  a  consuming  fire.  He  demands  absolute  holiness  in 
his  creatures  because  that  is  one  of  his  attributes.  *'Ye  shall  be 
holy,  for  I  the  Lord  your  God  am  holy."  When  our  brother  saw 
himself  in  this  new  light  he  felt  his  nakedness  and  sinfulness  and 
cried  out:  ''What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?" 

Beware  of  trusting  your  own  righteousness  for  salvation. 
Many  of  you  are  comforting  yourselves  with  it ;  but  know  that  it 
cannot  stand  before  the  bar  of  an  aroused  conscience  that  has 
been  under  the  influence  of  God's  law!  Today  accept  what  will 
give  ease  of  conscience  and  support  in  death. 

A  belief  in  a  future  life  also  gives  rise  to  the  question :  What 
shall  I  do  to  be  saved?  There  is  in  the  breast  of  man  an  inkling 
that  he  will  live  after  death.  It  seems  that  no  savage  tribe  is  so 
benighted  that  it  has  totally  lost  this  feeling.  The  North  Ameri- 
can Indian  speaks  of  his  "happy  hunting  ground"  and  when  an 


llg  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

African  chief  dies  they  kill  off  many  of  his  slaves  to  accompany 
him  to  the  life  to  come.  This  belief  is  inborn.  In  spite  of  man's 
fallen  condition  this  hope  is  not  entirely  blasted  and  man  hopes 
to  live  forever.  There  is  something  in  our  very  makeup  that 
shudders  at  the  thought  of  annihilation.  There  is  a  longing  in 
the  human  breast  for  life.  It  is  the  supreme  desire  of  the  human 
soul  and  Job  correctly  says:  ''Whatsoever  a  man  hath  will  he 
give  for  his  life."  Life !  Life !  This  is  God's  gift  to  man.  How  we 
shudder  at  the  thought  of  surrendering  it.  We  cling  to  it  more 
and  we  long  for  it  hereafter. 

Our  brother  had  this  faith.  No  doubt,  for  many  years  he  tried 
to  suppress  his  hope,  but  as  death  drew  near  it  could  no  longer 
be  suppressed.  God  was  merciful  to  him.  He  took  a  real  interest 
in  the  future,  he  asked  many  questions  about  it  and  he  accepted 
the  light  that  fell  from  beyond.  He  no  longer  warred  against 
his  better  self,  but  breaking  away  from  the  restraint  of  sin,  he 
longed  for  that  better  life.  He  found  the  answer  to  his  question 
and  we  trust  that  his  soul  is  now  at  rest  with  God. 

II.  What  Answers  are  given  to  this  Question?  The  world  tells 
you  that  there  is  no  satisfactory  answer  to  the  question.  It  says : 
We  cannot  know  whether  there  is  a  God,  a  heaven,  a  hell,  or  a 
future  existence  of  happiness  or  misery.  They  say  that  we  cannot 
have  the  evidence  of  our  senses  and,  therefore,  we  cannot  know. 
They  tell  you  that  no  man  has  ever  come  back  from  the  dead,  that 
that  land  is  a  "bourne  whence  no  traveler  returns,"  that  the 
future  is  a  sealed  book  and  that  no  man  has  ever  been  able  to 
break  the  seal. 

But  in  worldly  matters  men  do  not  act  so.  They  do  not  insist 
on  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses.  If  a  man  were  to  say:  '*! 
have  never  seen  the  land  of  China,  hence  I  do  not  know  that  it 
exists,"  would  we  not  question  his  sanity?  There  are  men  enough 
who  have  seen  China;  who  have  landed  on  its  coasts,  who  have 
seen  its  cities  and  eaten  its  fruits.   These  trustworthy  witnesses 


WHAT  MUST  I  DO  TO  BE  SAVED?        Hg 

have  come  back  and  told  us  their  experiences  and  we  accept  their 
testimony  and  act  on  it.  Who  among  us  has  seen  George  Wash- 
ington ?  No  one ;  and  yet  who  doubts  that  he  was  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  ?  It  would  be  a  mark  of  insanity  to  doubt 
all  that  reliable  eye  and  ear  witnesses  have  told  us  about  him 
and  we  are  just  as  sure  that  he  was  the  first  President  as  if  we  had 
been  in  Washington  and  had  seen  him  with  our  own  eyes. 

Yes  we  can  know  about  the  future  life  and  the  way  that  leads 
to  it.  God  has  not  left  us  in  the  dark.  There  was  one  who  came 
back  from  the  dead  and  who  revealed  the  future  life  to  us.  Christ 
arose  from  the  dead.  He  could  not  be  holden  of  death.  He  went 
into  it  but  was  mightier  than  death.  He  came  back  for  the  very 
purpose  that  he  might  give  us  the  assurance  of  the  life  to  come. 
After  his  resurrection  his  disciples  touched  him;  they  ate  with 
him;  they  put  their  hands  into  his  pierced  side;  they  conversed 
with  him  and  held  sweet  communion  with  him.  Both  Jesus  him- 
self and  his  disciples  have  given  the  world  the  testimony  that 
there  is  a  future  life.  He  was  seen  at  one  time  by  more  than  five 
hundred  brethren.  Who  could  reasonably  doubt  such  a  cloud  of 
witnesses !  There  may  be  such  a  thing  as  an  honest  doubter,  but 
he  does  not  question  sufficient  testimony.  Here  then  from  the 
mouth  of  Christ  and  his  faithful  followers  you  have  the  testi- 
mony that  you  need  and  if  you  still  doubt  you  do  so  because  you 
choose  to,  not  because  the  testimony  is  not  sufficient. 

But  the  world  sometimes  admits  that  the  question  can  be 
answered  and  it  has  an  answer  that  is  satisfactory  to  itself.  It 
says:  "Do  the  best  that  you  can;  follow  the  light  that  you  have; 
obey  the  voice  of  conscience ;  fulfil  self-imposed  laws ;  do  good  as 
you  understand  it."  Summing  up  all  the  answers  that  the  world 
gives  we  have  this:  Human  righteousness  is  sufficient  for  salva- 
tion. But  the  Book  says :  "Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed 
the  righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  ye  shall  in  no  wise 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.''    The  scribes  and  Pharisees 


220  FUNEBALSEBMONS 

were  not  bad  men  as  the  world  goes.  They  were  not  gross  drunk- 
ards and  thieves  and  adulterers.  Their  fellow-men  gave  them  the 
testimony,  that  they  led  model  lives,  that  they  outwardly  con- 
formed to  the  letter  of  the  law.  And  yet  Jesus  says  it  takes  a 
better  righteousness  than  theirs  to  enter  the  kingdom. 

There  is  no  more  prevalent  sin  both  in  the  church  and  out- 
side of  it  than  self-righteousness.  A  man  wants  to  be  his  own  sav- 
ior. That  is  the  only  way  to  salvation  that  the  natural  man  has 
found  and  it  is  the  only  way  that  is  satisfactory  to  him.  It 
tickles  his  pride.  It  calls  for  no  humility.  It  exalts  human  nature 
and  puffs  it  up. 

But  there  is  an  answer  given  to  this  question  by  the  Bible 
that  is  so  simple  that  a  child  can  understand  it,  so  comforting 
that  the  soul  that  has  grasped  it  seeks  no  further.  It  is  the 
answer  sent  by  God  and  for  that  reason  it  is  final  and  complete. 

''Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved.'* 
He  is  the  Son  of  God.  He  was  our  substitute  under  the  law.  He 
suffered  the  penalty  of  sin  upon  the  cross.  He  cried  upon  the 
cross:  "It  is  finished!"  God's  wrath  is  appeased.  His  justice 
is  satisfied,  his  holiness  is  vindicated.  The  debt  is  paid  and  his 
resurrection  and  ascension  are  the  evidence  of  it.  There  is  noth- 
ing asked  of  you  for  salvation.  You  are  a  poor  beggar,  you  have 
nothing  to  offer.  But  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanses 
from  all  sin. 

Because  this  is  God's  answer  it  fills  the  bill.  It  is  satisfactory. 
It  meets  the  needs  of  the  human  soul.  In  all  the  world  ours  is  the 
only  religion  that  knows  of  a  Savior,  that  offers  the  human  heart 
just  what  it  needs. 

If  a  man  were  trying  to  run  a  wheelbarrow  down  a  railroad 
track  anybody  could  see  that  the  barrow  and  the  track  were  not 
made  for  each  other.  It  is  equally  plain  that  a  wagon  and  a  rail- 
road track  were  not  designed  for  each  other.   But  stand  and  see 


WHAT    MUST    I    DO    TO    BE    SAVED?  121 

the  iron  horse  come  down  the  track.  Its  flanged  wheels  are  de- 
signed for  the  track,  with  safety  it  runs  at  high  speed. 

Here  is  a  sinner  and  here  is  a  Savior.  They  are  designed  for 
each  other.  They  fit  together.  Nothing  in  all  the  world  could 
meet  the  needs  of  the  human  soul,  but  a  Savior  who  was  the  Son 
of  God!  And  when  he  came  and  bore  the  load  of  sin,  then  the 
sinner  had  One  who  could  lead  him  into  the  presence  of  God. 
And  that  is  why  when  a  sinner  has  grasped  the  idea  of  sin  and  its 
results,  and  forgiveness  and  its  consequences,  nothing  else  is 
needed  for  support  in  the  hour  of  death. 

While  this  is  an  occasion  of  sorrow,  there  is  much  over  which 
to  rejoice.  In  the  eleventh  hour  our  brother  found  the  Savior,  he 
confessed  him  and  found  peace  in  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  he 
had  the  hope  of  heaven.  May  others  who  have  been  indifferent 
heed  the  warning  and  come  to  Christ  while  he  still  calls  them. 
And  may  those  of  us  who  have  found  peace  in  his  wounds  so  live 
that  death  may  admit  us  into  the  glorious  presence  of  God.  Amen ! 


THE  LIVELY  HOPE 
By  Rev.  Prof.  George  Rygh 

"Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which 
according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a  lively  hope 
by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.  To  an  inheritance  incor- 
ruptible, and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for 
you,  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation  ready 
to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time." — I  Peter  1:  3-5. 

Occasion :  For  a  Middle- Aged  Christian 

Mourning  Friends: 

We  have  assembled  in  the  house  of  mourning.  Again  we  stand 
face  to  face  with  the  great  enemy — Death.  He  stalks  triumphantly 
through  the  world  and  through  all  the  ages.  His  pathway  is 
strewn  with  grief  and  sorrow.  Hopelessness  and  despair  are  his 
companions;  anguish  of  heart  is  his  triumph.  He  walks  at  our 
side  along  the  road  of  life.  He  sits  with  us  at  table;  he  is  the 
unbidden  guest  at  every  merrymaking,  the  dread,  mysterious  fact 
hovering  near  at  every  moment.  He  lays  his  chill  hand  upon  the 
heart  and  it  beats  no  more.  The  great  and  powerful  have  no 
grandeur  in  his  presence.   They  are  but  dust  and  ashes. 

The  Danish  author,  Carl  Ploug,  wrote  a  poem  entitled  ''Abel's 
Death."  Our  first  parents  are  mystified.  They  cannot  compre- 
hend this  new  thing  that  has  come  into  their  experience.  They 
speak  to  the  prostrate  frame;  but  he  answers  not.  The  mother 
chides  him,  but  the  dead  boy  makes  no  response.  His  eyes  are 
glassy.  His  hands  are  cold  and  lifeless.  His  heart  is  still.  Death 
had  come  into  the  world,  and  they  learned  what  humanity  ever 
since  has  learned — that  death  is  the  comrade  of  sin. 

122 


THE    LIVELY   HOPE  123 

Does  death  end  it  all?  Does  death  mark  the  termination  of 
life?  Are  human  beings  no  more  than  the  cattle  of  the  fields, 
or  the  birds  of  the  air  that  fall  to  earth  and  return  to  the  dust 
from  which  they  came?  Or  does  life  project  itself  beyond  this 
interruption  which  men  call  death?  Is  the  soul  of  man  immortal? 
Or  are  the  deep-seated  hopes  and  aspirations  of  men  for  immor- 
tality but  an  illusion  and  a  deception  ?  All  the  nations  of  the  earth 
and  the  wisest  men  of  all  the  times  have  believed  and  taught  the 
immortality  of  the  soul.  In  the  light  of  God's  testimony  in  the 
human  heart,  they  have  believed  and  taught  that  men's  deeds  fol- 
low them  beyond  the  grave  and  that  every  man  shall  be  recom- 
pensed according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body.  The  good  shall 
walk  in  Elysian  fields  of  joy  and  perfect  happiness:  the  evil  shall 
suffer  the  torments  of  punishment  for  their  wicked  lives.  The  law 
of  retribution,  which  so  often  fails  in  this  present  life,  reaches  men 
beyond  the  portals  of  death  and  fixes  their  fate  throughout  eter- 
nity; for  justice  is  the  law  of  the  universe,  and  justice  must  be 
done. 

But  the  hope  which  men  have  for  life  beyond  death  is  built  on 
shifting  sand.  Men's  evil  consciences  warn  them  against  the 
Judgment  Day,  and  sin  cannot  be  atoned  for  by  good  works  and 
scourgings  and  tears.  Sin  has  humanity  in  its  grip.  Sin  cannot 
be  argued  away  nor  can  the  guilt  of  sin  be  removed  by  man.  For 
this  reason  the  hope  of  humanity  is  weak  and  trembling,  full  of 
fear  and  misgiving.  Death  to  the  unbeliever  or  the  heathen  is 
literally  a  plunge  in  the  dark,  a  journeying  into  an  unknown 
world  filled  with  direst  possibilities.  In  the  presence  of  death 
humanity  is  hopeless,  cheerless  and  despairing. 

No  wonder  the  apostle  blesses  God  whom  he  speaks  of  as  the 
"Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Our  God  is  not  an  unknown 
God,  not  an  impersonal  Energy,  an  intangible  Force.  He  is  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  also  our  Father,  who 
' '  according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a 


124  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead." 
Through  the  glorious  Gospel  he  has  revealed  his  ''abundant 
mercy"  whereby  he  bestows  on  us  the  forgiveness  of  sin,  life  and 
salvation,  for  through  this  ''abundant  mercy"  he  has  begotten  us 
again.  We  are  born  again,  regenerated,  made  the  children  of  God 
through  Baptism  and  the  power  of  God's  life-giving  Word. 

As  the  children  of  God  we  have  an  inheritance;  for  children 
are  rightful  heirs.  There  is  a  patrimony  which  comes  to  us,  not  by 
virtue  of  good  deeds  or  merit  of  our  own,  but  as  the  gift  of  grace. 
"If  children,  then  heirs." 

This  inheritance  is  "incorruptible."  It  never  decays.  Our 
bodies  are  tenements  of  clay  which  soon  decay  and  sink  into  the 
earth  to  mix  with  the  dust  from  which  they  came.  But  that  which 
men  call  "death"  does  in  no  wise  vitiate  or  destroy  our  eternal 
inheritance.  "Henceforth,"  says  the  apostle,  "there  is  laid  up  for 
me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge, 
shall  give  me  at  that  day :  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  all  them 
also  that  love  his  appearing"  (|II  Timothy  4:8).  This  "crown" 
of  immortal  life  represents  the  honor  and  unspeakable  joy  which 
God  bestows  in  all  their  fulness  upon  those  who,  in  this  life,  built 
their  hope  upon  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  dead. 

This  inheritance  is  "undefiled."  It  is  essentially  pure.  There 
is  nothing  to  mar  it,  nothing  to  tarnish  it.  It  has  no  taint  of  evil 
nor  tinge  of  corruption.  It  is  essentially  pure,  essentially  ethical, 
essentially  the  expression  of  the  perfection  which  is  God's. 

"Our  inheritance  fadeth  not  away."  It  is  unwithering.  It 
blossoms  forever.  It  is  not  only  a  century  plant ;  it  is  an  eternity 
plant,  never  failing  to  satisfy,  never  failing  to  fill  the  soul  with 
the  rapture  ineffable  and  perfect. 

Thus  gloriously  the  apostle  describes  the  inheritance  which  is 
"reserved  in  heaven  for  you  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God, 
through  faith  unto  salvation  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last 


THE    LIVELY    HOPE  125 

day."  Jesus  loved  to  speak  of  heaven  and  its  glory  both  for 
himself  and  for  his  disciples.  "In  my  Father's  house,"  he  says, 
*'are  many  mansions.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you."  It  is  the 
Home  Beautiful,  the  Land  of  Heart's  Desire.  As  it  is  written, 
'^Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man  the  things  v^^hich  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that 
love  him"  (I  Corinthians  2:  9). 

Such  is  our  inheritance.  Such  is  the  object,  the  content  of  our 
strong  ''lively  hope."  Neither  life  nor  death,  neither  principali- 
ties nor  powers,  neither  arguments  nor  ridicule,  neither  prosper- 
ity nor  adversity,  can  separate  us  from  the  hope  which  we  have 
who  are  begotten  again  of  God  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  his  "abundant  mercy."  We  are  God's  children  and  the 
rightful  heirs  of  all  his  wealth  and  eternal  treasure. 

But  what  if  our  hope  were  an  illusion  and  a  snare ;  such  as  is 
the  hope  of  the  unbelieving  world?  What  if  we,  too,  are  building 
our  hope  on  shifting  sand?  What  if  the  Castle  Beautiful  which 
we  build  is  insecure  and  tumbles  about  ouf  ears  in  the  day  of 
temptation  and  in  the  hour  of  death?  What  if  the  staff  upon 
which  we  lean  prove  a  broken  reed,  and  we,  like  the  heathen,  sink 
to  earth  never  to  rise  again? 

Our  hope  is  built  upon  a  firm  foundation.  It  is  not  built  as  is 
the  unbeliever's  hope  upon  good  works  of  human  merit.  Our  hope 
of  heaven  is  not  built  on  human  righteousness  and  human  en- 
deavor. The  ground  upon  which  our  hope  rests  is  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.  That  is  the  rock  foundation  upon 
which  our  hope  is  built.  His  resurrection  seals  and  confirms  for- 
ever the  truth  of  Christ's  doctrine.  It  attests  God's  acceptance 
and  approval  of  the  sacrifice  for  sin  which  Christ,  the  God-Man, 
made  by  his  perfect  life  and  innocent  sufferings  and  death  upon 
the  cross.  It  is  the  crowning  glory  placed  by  God  his  Father  upon 
his  service  as  the  mediator  between  God  and  man.  Christ  Jesus 
has  paid  the  price.    We  are  purchased  with  his  holy,  precious 


126  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

blood,  his  innocent  sufferings  and  death.  Our  guilt  is  atoned.  Our 
sins  are  washed  away  by  his  blood.  Our  souls  are  redeemed 
through  the  ransom  which  Christ  has  paid  upon  the  cross.  Our 
hope  is  built  upon  God's  "abundant  mercy"  as  revealed  in  the 
sending  of  his  Son  to  earth  to  die  for  the  sin  of  the  world  and  to 
rise  again  as  the  Conqueror  of  Death,  the  Accepted  Sacrifice,  the 
Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  Therefore 
every  believer  says  with  fullest  confidence  from  the  heart : 

'*My  hope  is  built  on  nothing  less 
Than  Jesus'  blood  and  righteousness. 
I  dare  not  trust  the  sweetest  frame, 
But  wholly  lean  on  Jesus'  name. 

On  Christ  the  solid  rock  I  stand,  :^  . 

All  other  ground  is  sinking  sand. ' ' 

Our  hope  is  built  securely  upon  what  God  our  Heavenly  Fa- 
ther has  done  for  us  through  the  mediatorial  work  of  Christ 
Jesus,  our  Lord  and  only  Saviour.  We  Christians  build  our  hope 
on  God's  mercy,  not  on  our  own  merits.  We  build  on  God's 
'^abundant  mercy,"  not  on  our  own  defective  work-righteous- 
ness. We  do  not  hesitate  to  make  our  choice  between  what  God 
has  done  for  us  and  what  we  poor  sinners  may  be  able  to  do. 
His  ''abundant  mercy"  is  the  Gibraltar  upon  which  by  his  Holy 
Spirit  we  build  the  castle  of  faith  and  hope.  Heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away,  but  our  hope  cannot  be  disturbed.  Men  may 
traduce  us.  Men  may  persecute.  Men  may  rob  us  of  life  itself; 
but  far  and  away  beyond  the  reach  of  all  evil  powers  on  earth  and 
under  the  earth  is  our  hope  which  is  built  upon  the  resurrection 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.  That  cannot  be  dis- 
turbed. That  cannot  be  destroyed.  That  cannot  be  taken  from 
us  by  any  power  on  earth.  It  is  ours.  In  this  hope  we  rest 
secure.  Though  all  things  fail,  it  never  fails.  Though  the  eyes 
grow  dim,  mind  confused  and  the  heart  chilled  in  disappoint- 


THE    LIVELY   HOPE  127 

ment  and  sorrow,  this  hope  glorifies  life  and  fills  our  soul  with 
courage  and  joy  unspeakable. 

Meanwhile  we  greatly  rejoice  in  this  hope,  ''though  now  for 
a  season,  if  need  be,  we  are  in  heaviness  through  manifold  temp- 
tations." For  as  the  gold  is  purified  of  its  dross  by  the  fire  so 
our  faith  is  cleansed  by  the  trials  of  life.  They  serve  to  disci- 
pline us,  to  train  and  develop  us,  to  prepare  us  for  the  larger 
life,  untrammeled  in  its  development  into  the  larger  fruition 
and  higher  culmination  of  our  Christian  hope. 

Comfort  yourselves,  therefore,  sorrowing  relatives  and  friends 
of  the  departed,  in  this  hope.  It  is  based  upon  the  resurrection 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead.  Bless  God  the  Father 
f  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  by  his 
Holy  Spirit  through  Word  and  Sacrament  has  begotten  us  again 
unto  this  immovable  hope  by  his  ''abundant  mercy."  Those 
who  have  gone  before  beckon  us  homeward.  In  the  providence 
of  God,  our  grief,  though  a  trial,  helps  to  confirm  our  faith  and 
purify  it  of  doubts  and  misgivings.  It  gives  us  a  vision  of  the 
glory  that  is  not  seen  on  land  or  sea,  but  is  reserved  for  the 
children  of  God. 

May  he  remove  all  doubts  and  all  unbelief  from  your  hearts. 
May  he  make  us  strong  in  faith  that  our  hope  may  be  a  lively 
hope.  In  that  other  and  better  world  where  sin  and  death  shall 
be  no  more  we  shall  know  as  we  are  known  and  rejoice  together 
with  our  beloved  ones  who  died  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We 
shall  have  experiences  new  and  wonderful  beyond  the  power  of 
our  limited  minds  to  conceive.  To  him,  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  be  praise,  glory  and  honor  for  his  "abundant 
mercy"  now  and  forever  more.    Amen. 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  KNOWLEDGE  INADEQUATE  TO  SOLVE 
EVERY  PROBLEM 

By  Rev.  G.  J.  Troutman 

"Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now; 
but  thou  Shalt  know  hereafter." — John  13:  7. 

Occasion:  In  the  home  of  a  suicide,  who  was  a  member  of  the 

church,  and  is  thought  to  have  become  demented  from 

worry  over  ill  health 

Dear  Mourners: 

What  a  shock  this  community  received  when  the  sad  news  of 

the  untimely  death  of became  known.    We  were 

dumb-founded;  it  seemed  unbelievable;  and  we  have  not  recov- 
ered from  the  effects  of  the  deplorable  act  that  has  culminated 
in  the  death  of  this  highly  respected  man.  If  we,  his  friends  and 
neighbors,  were  sorely  affected  by  the  sad  intelligence  of  his 
untimely  death,  what  must  have  been  the  effect  on  the  imme- 
diate family  of  the  deceased.  I  know  that  I  am  expressing  the 
sentiment  of  the  community,  when  I  extend  to  this  bereaved 
family  our  heartfelt  sympathy.  While  this  pity  and  kindly  feel- 
ing will  not  heal  the  wound,  it  may,  to  some  extent,  allay  the 
pain  so  suddenly  inflicted.  Why  did  this  man  commit  this  rash 
act?  Was  he  accountable  for  the  cruel  deed?  Did  he  cease  to  be 
a  Christian  when  he  took  his  own  life?  Could  not  God  have  pre- 
vented this  tragedy?  If  so,  why  did  he  not  do  so?  These,  and 
similar  questions,  have  been  asked,  but  who  is  able  to  answer 
them  in  a  satisfactory  manner?  Certainly  not  the  man  of  the 
world,  nor  do  we  Christians  claim  to  be  able  to  do  so. 

128 


CHRISTIAN'S   KNOWLEDGE    INADEQUATE  129 

The  Christian's  Knowledge  Inadequate  to  Solve  Every  Problem 

There  is  much  Christians  do  not  know:  It  is  apparent  from 
the  words  of  our  text,  that  Peter,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
disciples,  did  not  always  know,  nor  could  he  understand,  the 
words  and  acts  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Peter  did  not  fully  grasp  the 
import  and  catch  the  significance  of  the  last  Passover  Feast.  The 
sacred  scenes  and  experiences  were  too  much  for  his  finite  mind 
to  grasp;  and  now,  as  Jesus  was  about  to  wash  Peter's  feet,  he 
remonstrated ;  he  did  not  think  it  was  the  thing  to  do.  Peter  evi- 
dently considered  this  act  of  the  Lord  as  unbecoming  and  there- 
fore said:  "Lord,  dost  thou  wash  my  feet?  Jesus  answered  and 
said  unto  him,  What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now :  but  thou  shalt 
know  hereafter." 

The  apostles  did  not  possess  the  adequate  knowledge  to  solve 
every  problem  that  confronted  them.  These  faithful  followers 
of  the  Master  were  often  perplexed.  The  Lord's  words  and  ways 
seemed  strange  to  them  at  times.  Their  short-sighted  under- 
standing made  it  practically  impossible  for  them  to  understand 
why  the  Lord  did  this,  or  why  he  did  not  do  otherwise;  why 
he  did  not  prevent  this  or  that  when  it  was  in  his  power  to  do 
so.  They,  however,  learned  through  faith  and  experience  that 
the  Lord  does  all  things  well,  he  knows  what  is  best  for  each 
of  us. 

That  there  are  many  problems  that  children  of  God  cannot 
solve,  is  verified  by  God-fearing  people  of  every  age.  This  fact 
should  not  surprise  us.  The  Lord  has  plainly  told  us.  ''For  my 
thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways, 
saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth, 
so  are  my  ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than 
your  thoughts"  (Isaiah  55:  8-9).  That  God  watches  over  the 
affairs  of  the  world,  and  that  nothing  transpires  without  his 
permission,  is  very  plain  from  Matthew  10:  29-31:  "Are  not  two 


130 


FUNEEAL    SERMONS 


sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing?  and  one  of  them  shall  not  fall  on 
the  ground  without  your  Father.  But  the  very  hairs  of  your  head 
are  all  numbered.  Fear  ye  not  therefore;  ye  are  of  more  value 
than  many  sparrows."  Not  that  God  wills  every  act  of  man, 
by  no  means.  Innumerable  are  the  deeds  of  men  that  are  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  the  Lord.  God  does  not  want  us  to  commit 
sin,  he  warns  us  against  iniquity,  and  tells  us  of  the  terrible  re- 
sults that  follow  a  life  of  sin.  It  is  the  Lord's  will  that  all  should 
accept  the  redemption  offered  through  Christ  Jesus;  but  many 
will  not.  Why  so  many  reject  this  proffered  salvation  is  a  difficult 
problem  to  answer.  Why  individuals  will  commit  crimes  in  spite 
of  their  better  knowledge,  is  hard  to  explain.  Innate  iniquity  is 
the  key  to  the  solution,  but  does  not  solve  the  mystery. 

We  are  Christians,  but  our  knowledge  is  not  adequate  to  an- 
swer the  question :  Why  did  this  man  take  his  own  life  ?  He  had 
so  much  to  live  for. 

The  deceased  had  a  happy  home,  which  is,  without  a  doubt, 
one  of  the  greatest  blessings  on  earth.  He  seemed  to  appreciate 
his  home,  one  could  usually  find  him  there.  He  was  not  like  many 
husbands  and  fathers  that  seek  association  and  pleasure  else- 
where than  at  home;  who  want  to  get  away  from  under  their 
own  roof  and  the  society  of  those  that  ought  to  be  the  nearest 
and  dearest  to  them.  He  loved  his  wife  and  children  and  appre- 
ciated being  with  them :  why  such  a  man  should  separate  him- 
self, by  this  manner,  from  his  dear  ones,  is  hard  to  explain. 

The  departed  enjoyed  the  respect  of  the  community.  Having 
been  born,  reared  and  always  lived  on  the  farm  where  he  com- 
mitted the  rash  act  that  culminated  in  his  death,  his  friends  and 
neighbors  had  ample  opportunity  to  know  him.  Most  certainly 
he  had  faults  like  every  other  individual,  but  that  he  was 
widely  known  and  highly  respected  is  apparent  today,  and  in- 
creases the  mystery  of  his  untimely  death. 


CHRISTIAN'S   KNOWLEDGE    INADEQUATE  131 

This  dead  man  was  prosperous.  He  was  honest,  industrious 
and  frugal  and  God  blessed  his  labor,  so  that  he  not  only  en- 
joyed the  necessaries  of  life,  but  accumulated  considerable  of 
this  world's  goods.  Many  would  say,  that  he  was  now  in  a  posi- 
tion and  condition  not  only  to  live  without  anxious  cares,  but  to 
enjoy  life;  yet  he  ends  his  earthly  existence  in  such  a  ruthless 
way. 

Above  all,  the  deceased  was  a  member  of  a  Christian  church. 
It  is  deplorable  that  any  person  should  take  his  own  life,  but 
it  seems  doubly  so,  when  a  confessor  of  Christ  brings  about  his 
own  death.  Late  in  life,  only  two  years  ago,  the  now  departed, 
whose  lifeless  body  we  have  before  us,  publicly  professed  his 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  was  baptized.  He  was  faithful  in 
attendance  at  divine  services  and  regularly  participated  in  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Last  Sunday  evening  he  attended  the  service 
and  spoke  appreciatively  of  the  same.  We  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  his  sincerity,  but  it  is  beyond  our  comprehension  to  under- 
stand how  anyone  that  has  heard  the  terrible  words  of  the  Law, 
and  sweet  message  of  the  Gospel,  can  commit  such  a  deed,  dia- 
metrically opposed  to  the  Christian  religion.  A  mystery  confronts 
us:  a  mystery  that  we  shall  not  be  able  to  unravel  this  side  of 
eternity.  We  know  so  little  with  absolute  certainty,  but  God 
knows  it  all,  and  we  have  the  assurance  that  we  shall  know 
hereafter. 

Some  facts  we  do  know:  We  know  that  the  deceased  was  not 
in  good  health.  For  some  time  his  physical  condition  has  been 
far  below  normal.  He  sought  relief  by  consulting  various  physi- 
cians and  applying  the  remedies  suggested.  He  hoped  by  the 
change  of  climate  to  recuperate,  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  His  con- 
dition worried  him  and  it  became  apparent  to  those  about  him 
that  he  was  breaking  down  mentally.  His  mental  and  physical 
condition  preyed  on  his  mind  and  in  all  probability  caused  him 
to  commit  this  rash  act. 


Part  IV 


LIFE    HERE    AND    HEREAFTER 
By  Rev.  Wm.  Brenner 

*'.  .  .  What  I  shall  choose  I  wot  not.  For  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt 
two,  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better; 
nevertheless  to  abide  in  the  flesh  is  more  needful  for  you." — Philippians  1: 
22-24. 

Occasion:  For  a  Christian 

Prayer:  Lord  God,  who  hearest  prayer,  and  fulfillest  the  de- 
sire of  them  that  fear  thee :  let  thy  mercy  be  upon  us  as  our  trust 
is  in  thee.   "We  seek  thy  favor,  we  implore  thy  help  and  blessing. 

Especially  do  we  entreat  thee  to  bless  and  comfort  those  that 
mourn,  all  who  are  oppressed  and  heavy-laden,  every  anxious 
and  troubled  soul.  What  seems  evil  to  these  bereaved  and  sor- 
rowing ones,  overrule  thou,  we  pray  thee,  for  good.  In  their 
afflicion  may  they  turn  to  thee  for  succor;  in  faith  and  prayer 
approach  thy  throne  of  grace  that  ''they  may  obtain  mercy  and 
find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need."  In  the  midst  of  our  many 
trials  and  temptations  may  we  never  lose  our  faith  and  trust  in 
thee,  but  ever  hold  fast  the  blessed  assurance  which  thy  Word 
gives  to  all  believers. 

Gracious  Savior,  be  thou  with  us.  Let  thy  mercy  richly 
flow;  give  thy  Spirit,  blessed  Jesus,  light  and  life  on  us  bestow. 

Unworthy  as  we  are,  we  come  to  thee,  most  merciful  Father, 
for  the  forgiveness  of  our  sins,  and  whatsoever  we  have  need  of 
in  our  pilgrimage  through  this  world  of  sorrow  and  strife,  of 
doubt  and  trouble.  Have  mercy  upon  us  for  Christ's  sake.  Cheer 
us  in  our  weariness.  Support  us  in  our  weakness.  Guide  us  in  all 
our  ways. 


4  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

Be  with  us  now,  and  evermore,  and  grant  us  thy  peace,  0 
Lord. 

''Dear  Saviour  of  all  below, 
Comfort  us  in  every  woe; 
Hear,  O  hear  us, 
Blessed  Jesus. '^     Amen. 

Dear  Friends  and  Brethren  in  Christ,  especially  mourning 
Attendants : 

In  the  words  of  our  text  St.  Paul  speaks  of  ^'Life  here  and 
Hereafter, ' '  and  that  which  lies  between  the  two  and  is  the  cause 
of  our  separation  from  the  one  and  connection  with  the  other. 
"When  a  man's  earthly  course  is  finished,  his  physical  existence 
terminated  and  this  world  has  vanished  forever  from  his  vision, 
we  say  that  he  is  dead.  Death  may  overtake  us  any  time.  Life, 
exceedingly  valuable  and  precious  to  him  who  uses  it  aright,  is, 
nevertheless,  short  and  uncertain.  The  Scriptures  themselves 
speak  of  it  as  but  ''a  vapor  that  appeareth  for  a  little  while  and 
then  vanisheth  away."  ''We  know  not  what  a  single  day  may 
bring  forth."  "In  the  midst  of  life,  we  are  in  death."  "We  all 
do  fade  as  a  leaf  and  are  carried  away  as  with  a  flood."  "Are 
not  his  days  also  like  the  days  of  an  hireling?"  "Behold,  thou 
hast  made  my  days  as  an  hand-breadth."  Does  not  death  often 
come  "as  a  thief  in  the  night,"  when  we  least  expect  him?  Even 
of  those  who  live  the  longest,  the  words  of  Job  are  true,  "Wlien 
a  few  more  years  are  come,  then  shall  I  go  the  way  whence  I  shall 
not  return"  (Job  16:  22),  and  of  the  Psalmist:  "We  spend  our 
years  as  a  tale  that  is  told"  (Ps.  90:  9).  And  since  according 
to  God's  Word  and  our  own  experience,  these  things  are  indis- 
putably true,  will  we  not  be  wise  if  we  make  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist  our  devout  and  constant  meditation:  "Lord,  make  me 
to  know  mine  end,  and  the  measure  of  my  days,  what  it  is ;  that  I 
may  know  how  frail  I  am"  (Ps.  39:  4)  ? 


n 


LIFE    HERE    AND    HEREAFTER  5 

King  Phillip  of  Macedon  had  a  servant  whose  duty  it  was  to 
wake  the  king  each  morning  by  saying,  Phillip,  remember  thou 
art  mortal."  Surely  we  need  no  such  reminders,  for  the  evi- 
dences of  our  mortality  are  everywhere.  More  people  are  beneath 
the  ground  than  above  it.  The  cemeteries  are  fast  receiving  the 
teeming  populations  of  our  cities,  towns,  villages,  and  country 
places.  Well  may  it  be  said : 

**  Death  floats  upon  every  passing  breeze, 
And  lurks  in  every  flower; 
Each  season  has  its  own  disease. 
Its  perils  every  hour." 

Whether  with  Paul  we  have  a  "desire  to  depart"  or  not, 
whether  we  can  contemplate  the  close  of  our  earthly  history 
with  the  calmness  and  holy  joy  which  marked  the  termination 
of  the  temporal  career  of  the  great  Apostle,  or  are  filled  with 
trepidation  and  alarm  as  we  think  of  our  approaching  end;  de- 
part we  must.  It  is  the  inevitable.  ''The  wages  of  sin  is  death." 
''By  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by  sin,  and 
so  death  hath  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have  sinned." 
*'What  man  is  he  that  liveth  and  shall  not  see  death?"  "It  is 
appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die  and  after  death  the  judg- 
ment." 

There  is  no  land  without  its  graves,  no  city  without  its  funeral 
processions,  no  home,  however  favored,  where  crepe  will  not 
sooner  or  later  be  seen  on  the  door,  and  cries  heard  for  the 
"touch  of  a  vanished  hand,  and  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is 
still." 

"There  is  no  flock,  however  watched  and  tended, 

But  one  dead  lamb  is  there; 
There  is  no  fireside,  howsoever  defended, 

But  has  one  vacant  chair." 

Death  is  a  mighty  conqueror;  all  must  bow  before  him;  all 
are  under  his  dominion.   He  holds  universal  sway.   He  makes  no 


Q  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

distinction  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  great  and  the 
small,  the  young  and  the  old,  the  learned  and  the  unlettered. 
The  millionaire  banker  as  well  as  the  meanest  beggar  must  an- 
swer his  summons. 

Lazarus  died  and  was  carried  by  the  angels  into  Abraham's 
bosom.  The  rich  man,  clothed  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  and  far- 
ing sumptuously  every  day,  also  died,  and  w^as  buried,  and  in  hell 
he  lifted  up  his  eyes  being  in  torments.  Whatever  the  privileges 
of  the  rich,  however  great  the  influence  of  wealth  may  be  in  this 
world,  money  cannot  buy  exemption  from  death.  ''All  flesh  is 
as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  of  man  as  the  flower  of  grass.  The 
grass  withereth,  and  the  flower  thereof  falleth  away"  (I  Pet.  1: 
24).  "We  spend  our  yesLVs  as  a  tale  that  is  told  .  .  .  for  it 
is  soon  cut  off,  and  we  fly  away"  (Ps.  90:  9.  10).  When  we  begin 
to  live,  we  also  begin  to  die.  Our  life  is  a  march  to  the  tomb,  and 
how  varied  and  unsearchably  mysterious  our  experiences  between 
the  cradle  and  the  grave — what  toils  and  cares,  pains  and  pleas- 
ures, hopes  and  disappointments,  successes  and  failures,  sorrows 
and  joys  are  crowded  into  life's  little  span! 

"Bits  of  gladness  and  of  sorrow 
Strangely  crossed  and  interlaid, 
Bits  of  cloudbelt  and  of  rainbow. 
In  deep  alternate  braid. 
Bits   of   storm   when   winds   are   warring 
Bits  of  calm  when  blasts  are  stayed, 
Bits  of  silence  and  of  uproar. 
Bits  of  sunlight  and  of  shade. 

"Now  the  garland,  now  the  coffin, 
Now  the  wedding,  now  the  tomb, 
Now  the  festal  shouts  of  thousands, 
Now  the  churchyard's   lonely   gloom, 
Now  the  song  above  the  living, 
Now  the  chant  above  the  dead, 
The  full  smile  of  infant  beauty, 
Age's  wan  and  furrowed  head. 


1 


LIFE    HERE    AND    HEREAFTER  7 

"Bits  of  brightening  and  of  darkening, 
Bits  of  weariness  and  of  rest, 
All  the  hoping  and  despairing 
Of  the  full  or  hollowed  breast; 
Bits  of  slumbering  and  of  wakening, 
Heavy  tossing  to  and  fro, 
Shreads  of  living  and  of  dying, 
Beings  daily  ebb  and  flow. 

"With  these  is  life  begun  and  closed, 
Its  strange  mosaic  thus  composed; 
Such  are  our  annals  upon  earth. 
Our  tale  from  very  hour  of  birth.'' 

Our  text  also  speaks  of  our  "Immortality."  St.  Paul  says  he 
had  a  desire  to  ''depart,"  i.  e.,  of  going  from  one  place  to  an- 
other, from  this  world  to  the  next.  He  was  not  thinking  of  trav- 
eling from  one  point  to  another  on  this  earth,  but  of  returning, 
or  going  back  to  mother  earth — "earth  to  earth,  dust  to  dust, 
ashes  to  ashes."  But  his  life  would  still  go  on.  His  existence 
would  be  continued.  The  words  of  the  Apostle  are:  Having  a 
desire  to  depart  and  "To  Be."  The  language  used  is  simple. 
The  conviction  expressed  most  positive.  Paul  did  not  merely 
"hope"  for  immortality,  but  he  was  "persuaded"  and  "knew, 
that  if  the  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  is  dissolved,  we  have 
a  building  of  God,  an  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens"   (H  Cor.  5:  1). 

He  was  assured  that  death  is  not  the  end;  but  only  an  inci- 
dent in  our  history,  a  translation,  but  not  an  obliteration  or  ex- 
tinction of  our  being.  Whatever  others  might  think,  there  was  no 
room  for  doubt  or  questionings  in  the  mind  of  St.  Paul  as  to  the 
blessed  destiny  which  awaited  him.  Others  may  speak  of  death 
as  "a  leap  in  the  dark,"  for  the  author  of  the  15th  chapter  of 
First  Corinthians  it  was  a  flight  into  the  light.  Others  may  con- 
ceive of  it  as  "going  into  the  great  perhaps,"  but  for  the  writer 
of  the  "Epistle  to  Timothy"  nothing  was  more  certain  than  that 


g  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

* '  Christ  hath  abolished  death  and  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light  through  the  Gospel"  (I  Tim.  1:  10),  and  that  if  the  wages 
of  sin  is  death,  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life,  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ"  (Rom.  6:  23). 

*  *  Consider  what  I  say ;  and  the  Lord  give  thee  understanding 
in  all  things.  Remember  that  Jesus  Christ  of  the  seed  of  David 
was  raised  from  the  dead  according  to  my  Gospel:  wherein  I 
suffer  trouble  as  an  evil  doer,  even  unto  bonds ;  but  the  Word  of 
God  is  not  bound.  Therefore  I  endure  all  things  for  the  elect's 
sake,  that  they  may  also  obtain  the  salvation  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  with  eternal  glory.  It  is  a  faithful  saying:  For  if  we  be 
dead  with  him,  we  shall  also  live  with  him.  If  we  suffer,  we 
shall  also  reign  with  him :  if  we  deny  him,  he  will  also  deny  us ' ' 
(II  Tim.  2:  7-12).  ''The  Spirit  itself  beareth  witness  with  our 
spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of  God:  and  if  children,  then 
heirs;  heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ;  if  so  be  that  we 
suffer  with  him  that  we  may  be  also  glorified  together.  For  I 
reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy 
to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us" 
(Rom.  8:  16-18).  ''If  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ, 
we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable.  But  now  is  Christ  risen  from 
the  dead  and  become  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept.  For  since 
by  man  came  death,  by  man  came  also  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made 
alive"  (I  Cor.  15:  20-22). 

"Jesus,  thou  Prince  of  Life, 
Tliy  chosen  cannot  die; 
They  conquer  in  the   strife, 
To  reign  with  thee  on  high.'* 

** Jesus  lives:  No  longer  now 

Can  thy  terrors,  Death,  appall  me; 
Jesus  lives:  By  this  I  know 
From  the  grave  he  will  recall  me. 


i 


LIFE    HERE    AND    HEREAFTER  9 

Brighter  scenes  will  then  commence; 
This  shall  be  my  confidence. 

** Jesus  lives:   To  him  the  Throne 

High  o'er  earth  and  heaven  is  given: 
I  shall  go  where  he  is  gone, 

Live  and  reign  with  him  in  heaven. 
God  is  pledged;   weak   doubtings,  hence; 
This  shall  be  my  confidence. 

''Jesus  lives:  I  know  full  well 

Naught  me  from  his  love  shall  sever; 
Life,  nor  death,  nor  powers  of  hell, 

Part  me  now  from  Christ  for  ever; 
Freely  God  doth  grace  dispense, 
This  shall  be  my  confidence.'' 

Further,  our  text  speaks  of  our  chief  felicity  hereafter. 
Paul's  desire  was  to  depart  and  be  ''With  Christ." 

Could  we  desire  anything  higher  or  better?  ''Father,  I  will,'* 
was  the  prayer  of  Jesus,  "that  they  whom  thou  hast  given  me, 
may  be  with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold  my  glory.'' 
Companionship  with  the  risen,  ascended,  and  glorified  Redeemer 
— this  is  the  greatest  good,  the  sublimest  happiness,  which  the 
believing  soul  can  cherish  or  hope  to  receive.  Where  Christ  is 
there  is  everything  that  is  best.  "In  his  presence  is  fulness  of 
joy,  at  his  right  hand  are  pleasures  forevermore.''  True,  Christ 
is  with  his  people  here  and  now  in  Word  and  Sacrament.  He 
comes  to  us ;  but  it  is  largely  a  veiled  and  mysterious,  a  real  but 
unseen  presence  which  he  vouchsafes  in  and  through  his  ap- 
pointed Ordinances.  Hereafter  we  shall  walk  not  by  faith,  but 
by  sight  and  behold  the  King  in  his  beauty,  and  rejoice  con- 
tinually before  him.  Then  "we  shall  see  him  as  he  is"  and  be 
conformed  to  his  likeness."  How  glorious  is  that  kingdom 
wherein  all  the  saints  do  rejoice  with  Christ.  They  are  clothed 
with  white  raiment,  and  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  go- 


10  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

eth."  Beautiful  is  the  Celestial  City,  blessed  its  inhabitants, 
beyond  all  human  conception,  according  to  the  inspired  record, 
for  ''God  is  in  it  and  the  Lamb,"  and  "they  shall  see  his  face," 
and  "they  shall  serve  him  day  and  night,"  both  great  and 
small.  "And  they  are  without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God" 
(Rev.  14:  5).  "And  they  sing  the  song  of  Moses,  the  servant  of 
God,  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb,  saying,  Great  and  marvelous  are 
thy  works,  Lord  God  Almighty ;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou 
King  of  saints"  (Rev.  15:  3).  "Ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion, 
and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and 
to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels;  to  the  general  assembly 
and  church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to 
God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect, 
and  to  Jesus,  the  Mediator  of  the  new  Covenant,  and  to  the  blood 
of  sprinkling  that  speaketh  better  things  than  the  blood  of  Abel" 
(Heb.  12:  22-24).  "And  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord." 
"Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with  these  words"  (I  Thess.  4: 
18).  "In  his  Father's  house  are  many  mansions.  If  it  were  not 
so,  he  would  have  told  us  so.  He  has  gone  to  prepare  a  place  for 
us,  and  he  will  come  again  and  receive  us  unto  himself,  that 
where  he  is  there  we  may  be  also."  ^ 

"When  death  these  mortal  eyes  shall  seal, 
And  still  this  throbbing  heart, 
The  rending  veil  shall  Thee  reveal, 
All  glorious  as  Thou  art." 

Finally  our  text  speaks  of  the  immediateness  of  our  heavenly 
felicity,  after  death. 

The  Apostle  briefly  describes  the  momentous  crisis  which  every 
one  of  us  must  sooner  or  later  encounter,  and  the  consequences 
of  our  departure,  or  the  state  and  condition  in  which  believers 
will  exist  after  death;  but  he  gives  no  intimation  in  his  descrip- 
tion of  Immortality  of  a  so-called  "intermediate  state" — a  doc- 


LIFE    HERE    AND    HEREAFTER  H 

trine  which  has  deceived  many  souls.  PauPs  expectation  is  to 
depart  and  then  at  once  to  be  with  Christ.  His  language  will 
admit  of  no  other  interpretation.  The  Bible  speaks  plainly  about 
two  places  beyond  the  grave,  but  it  says  nothing  about  a  third 
place,  nothing  about  a  midway  station  or  a  purgatory.  Paul 
speaks  of  those  Christians,  or  believers  in  Christ  who  are  "ab- 
sent from  the  body,  as  present  with  the  Lord."  ''Today  shalt 
thou  be  with  me  in  Paradise,"  were  the  words  of  Jesus  to  the 
dying  thief,  and  such  is  the  glorious  privilege  awaiting  every 
saint  that  passes  down  into  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 

Without  Scriptural  authority  also  is  the  theory  promulgated 
in  certain  Protestant  quarters  about  ^  temporary  resting-place, 
an  imperfect  abode  somewhere,  for  the  righteous,  where  they 
wait  for  their  Lord,  an  ante-room  or  vestibule  of  heaven.  The 
Word  of  God  is  silent  on  this  point ;  and  all  discussion  regarding 
matters  not  plainly  revealed  in  Holy  Scripture  only  tends  to  cre- 
ate and  promote  confusion  and  disorder,  strife  and  schism,  and 
should,  therefore,  be  avoided.  Learned  men  are  often  given  to 
vain  speculations.  False  and  foolish  are  many  of  the  ideas  and 
opinions  entertained  by  so-called  "modern,"  "advanced,"  and 
"scientific  theologians,"  "who  concerning  the  Truth  have  erred, 
and  overthrow  the  faith  of  some"  (II  Tim.  2:  18).  "There  are 
many  unruly  and  vain  talkers  and  deceivers,  teaching  things 
which  they  ought  not,"  says  Paul  to  Titus,  "but  speak  thou  the 
things  which  become  sound  doctrine"  (Titus  1:  10;  2:  1). 
"Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord."  Dying  in  the 
Lord,  we  possess  at  once  and  for  ever  an  "inheritance  incor- 
ruptible, undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven 
for  us"  (I  Pet.  1:4).  "He  that  believe th  and  is  baptized  shall 
be  saved."  "This  is  life  eternal  that  they  might  know  thee,  the 
only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent."  "He 
that  heareth  my  words,"  says  Christ,  "and  believeth  on  him 
that  hath  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come  into 


12  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

condemnation,  but  is  passed  from  death  unto  life. ' '  Believers  in 
Christ  are  saved,  unbelievers  are  lost.  ^'And  these  shall  go  away 
into  everlasting  punishment;  but  the  righteous  into  life  ever- 
lasting punishment;  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal"  (Matt. 
25:  46).  ''Watch,  therefore,  for  ye  know  neither  the  day,  nor  the 
hour  wherein  the  Son  of  man  cometh"  (Matt.  25:  13). 

"Who,  O  Lord,  when  life  is  o'er, 

Shall  to  heaven's  blest  mansions  soar? 
Who,  an  ever  welcome  guest, 
In  thy  holy  place  shall  rest? 

"He  who  trusts  in  Christ  alone, 
Not  in  aught  himself  has  done; 
He,  great  God,  shall  be  thy  care, 
And  thy  choicest  blessings  share." 

"An  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory" — we  cannot 
comprehend  what  these  words  mean,  but  we  comfort  ourselves 
with  them.  "Heirs  of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ" — as 
Luther  says:  "It  passeth  man's  capacity.  To  understand  and  ex- 
plain— the  excellency  of  this  is  impossible  to  human  reason." 

"There  the  saints  shall  keep  eternal  Holy  Day,  ever  joyful, 
secure,  and  free  from  all  suffering,  ever  satisfied  in  God."  "My 
Lord  has  said  that  he  will  raise  me  up  again  at  the  last  day.  A 
mighty  trumpet-peal  will  awaken  and  renew  us  all.  Praise  God 
who  has  taught  us  not  to  dread,  but  to  sigh  and  long  for  that  day, 
and  with  St.  Paul  earnestly  to  desire  to  depart  and  be  with 
Christ.  His  is  no  empty  and  idle  kingdom.  There  is  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory.  The  Word  of  God  abideth  for  ever." 
Christ  says:  "Where  I  am,  there  also  shall  my  servant  be."  I 
will  comfort  myself  with  this  word:  "I  live,  and  ye  shall  live 
also."  If  Cicero  could  nobly  console  himself  and  take  courage 
against  death,  how  much  more  should  we  Christians,  who  have  a 
Lord,  who  is  the  Destroyer  of  death,  who  has  vanquished  him, 
"Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life." 


LIFE    HERE    AND    HEREAFTER  13 

''If  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them 
also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him. "  ' '  Wherefore 
sorrow  not  as  others  which  have  no  hope." 

Let  us  remember  that  we  are  mortal;  that  it  is  appointed 
unto  us  also  to  die.  Prepare  to  meet  thy  God.  ''Acquaint  now 
thyself  with  him,  and  be  at  peace ;  thereby  good  shall  come  unto 
thee."  Isaac  Watts,  the  great  hymn-writer,  said:  "Thank  God, 
I  can  lie  down  at  night  with  no  concern  whether  I  awake  in  this 
world  or  the  next."  Can  you,  dear  friend?  Can  you  say  with 
Paul,  "For  me  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain"?  Dost  thou 
believe  on  the  Son  of  God?  Confident  that  "Christ  died  for  our 
sins,  and  rose  again  for  our  justification,"  have  we  made  him 
our  Refuge  and  Hope.  Happy  they  who  can  say  with  the  Apostle : 
"Being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with  God,  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ."  "But  after  that  the  kindness  and  love  of 
God  our  Saviour  toward  man  appeared,  that  being  justified  by 
his  grace,  we  should  be  made  heirs  according  to  the  hope  of  eter- 
nal life.   This  is  a  faithful  saying     .     .     .     ."  (Titus  3:  4,  7,  8). 

Live  for  eternity.   Set  your  affections  on  things  above. 

Haller  was  a  great  German  naturalist,  who  made  physiology  a 
science.  He  was  professor  at  Goettingen,  but  his  reputation  and 
activity  were  world-wide.  The  universities  of  Berlin,  Stockholm, 
Copenhagen,  St.  Petersburg,  Paris,  Florence,  Bologna,  Padua,  ac- 
counted it  an  honor  to  reckon  him  among  their  members;  and 
not  merely  German  princes,  but  the  Emperor  Joseph  the  Second 
eagerly  sought  his  friendship.  After  his  death  a  private  diary 
was  found,  which  shows  how  on  every  day  in  this  busiest  of  lives, 
so  constantly  devoted  to  the  investigation  of  scientific  questions, 
time  was  taken  for  communion  with  the  Unseen,  and  for  medita- 
tion on  the  Future.  "Enable  me  to  think,"  these  are  his  words, 
"in  this  still  hour,  on  eternity,  and  prize  at  their  true  worth  the 
poor  joys  of  this  fleeting  life."  "May  I  not  only  know,  but  feel, 
that  if  I  have  no  peace  with  thee,  my  God,  I  have  nothing,  and 


24  FUNERAL   SEBMONS 

that  the  most  enjoyable  of  such  lives  is  but  a  sad  dream,  which 
eternity  will  end/' 

Dear  Friends:  May  the  Lord  comfort  you  in  your  bereave- 
ment. *'0  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with  tempest,  and  not  comforted, 
behold,  I  will  turn  thy  mourning  into  joy"  (Is.  54:  11).  *' Though 
the  mountains  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed,  yet  my  kindness 
shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my 
peace  be  removed,  saith  the  Lord  that  hath  mercy  on  thee.  This 
is  the  heritage  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and  their  righteous- 
ness is  of  me,  saith  the  Lord,  thy  Redeemer"  (Is.  54:  10,  17). 

''Thou,  who  alone  canst  heal  the  broken-hearted, 
O  Jesus,  Saviour,  hear. 
For  those  whose  joy  of  life  seems  all  departed, 
Whose  path  lies  bleak  and  drear. 

''He,  whom  she  loved  so  well  thy  hand  hath  taken; 
Make  her  submissive,  Lord, 
Her  soul  to  faith  and  trust  in  thee  awaken, 
Do  thou  relief  afford. 

''O  God,  be  with  her  in  her  lonely  dwelling, 
Eeveal  how  near  thou  art; 
Sweeten  her  solitude,  and,  grief  dispelling, 
Revive  her  drooping  heart. 

"At  length  make  clearly  known  thy  gracious  leading, 
In  all  the  ways  weVe  trod; 
We  know,  dear  Saviour,  thou  art  interceding, 
For  ev'ry  child  of  God. 

"Plead  then  for  us,  thou  dost  not  love  to  chasten, 
But  thou  art  wise  as  kind: 
O  let  each  sorrow  bid  us  onward  hasten, 
With  patient,  earnest  mind. 

"Lord,  our  lives  we  give  to  thy  tender  keeping, 
Let  not  our  footsteps  roam; 
And  stay  the  torrent  of  our  bitter  weeping, 
With  foretastes  of  our  Home. 


LIFE    HERE    AND    HEREAFTER  15 

**  There  where  no  change,  nor  death  can  make  us  sever, 
May  we  our  dear  ones  meet; 
To  own  thee,  Jesus,  as  our  King  for  ever, 
And  worship  at  thy  feet." 

Prayer:  Thy  thoughts,  0  God,  are  unsearchable  and  thy  ways 
past  finding  out.  Grant  us,  we  beseech  thee,  in  all  our  trials  and 
adversities,  patient  endurance,  and  humble  submission  to  thy 
Holy  Will.  Overrule  every  affliction  to  thy  Glory,  and  our  good. 
Bestow  thy  saving  grace  upon  every  needy  soul.  Comfort  every 
sorrowing,  suffering  spirit  that  calls  upon  thy  name.  Make  us 
penitent  for  all  our  sins,  pardon  every  transgression,  and  lead 
us  into  the  Way  of  everlasting  life.  Let  thy  mercy,  0  Lord,  be 
upon  us,  as  our  trust  is  in  thee. 

Grant  us  thy  peace.  Lord,  through  our  daily  life, 
Our  balm  in  sorrow,  and  our  stay  in  strife; 
And  when  thy  voice  shall  bid  our  conflict  cease. 
Call  us,  O  Lord,  to  thine  eternal  peace.    Amen. 


I  KNOW   THAT  MY   REDEEMER   UVETH 
By  Rev.  Walter  E.  Tressel,  A.  M. 

'*.     .     .    I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth    .     .    ." — Job  19:  25. 

Occasion:  For  a  man  of  exceptional  gifts,  highly  educated,  beset 

by  doubts,  suffering  at  times  from  serious  losses,  but 

regaining  the  simple  faith  of  his  childhood  and 

dying  in  the  Christian  hope 

A  few  strokes  of  the  pen  suffice  the  author  of  this  unrivalled 
book  to  picture  vividly  the  happy  life  of  Job  and  his  children. 
Job  is  represented  as  a  blameless,  upright  man.  He  has  become 
a  man  of  wealth,  of  dignity,  of  influence.  His  children  visit  each 
other  and  spend  many  days  in  family  fellowship  and  feasting. 
Fearing  that  his  sons  may  have  sinned  and  bidden  God  farewell, 
this  great  man  offers  burnt  offerings  according  to  the  number  of 
them  all. 

Suddenly  wealth  and  substance  are  consumed,  servants  are 
slain,  the  children  are  destroyed,  Job  himself  is  sorely  smitten. 
''Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  we  hear  him  say.  ''Re- 
nounce God,  and  die,"  advises  his  wife.  But  he  charges  her  with 
speaking  as  one  of  the  foolish  and  impious  women. 

Job's  three  friends  come  to  bemoan  with  him  and  to  comfort 
him,  but  their  words  lead  the  severely  tried  man  to  exclaim: 
"Miserable  comforters  are  ye  all."  Broken  in  body,  spirit  and 
fortune.  Job  presents  a  pathetic  figure.  Fear  and  doubt  assail 
him.  Unbelief  and  despair  threaten  to  engulf  him.  There  is  "the 
light  of  conflagrations,"  one  hears,  "the  sound  of  falling  cities," 
"birds  of  darkness  are  on  the  wing,  specters  uproar,  the  dead 
walk,   the  living   dream," 

16  . 


I   KNOW    THAT    MY  REDEEMER  LIVETH  17 

Job  is  being  tested.  Is  there  no  help  for  him?  Is  God  hiding 
himself  from  his  servant?  Is  his  mercy  entirely  removed  forever? 
Hov7  nobly  the  man  of  patience  endures  the  test !  Earnestly  does 
he  argue  with  his  friends.  Most  earnestly  does  he  expostulate 
with  God.  At  length  he  bursts  through  the  barriers,  and  reach- 
ing a  high-point  in  spiritual  experience,  gives  utterance  to  his 
joyous,  comfort-bringing  conviction  in  one  of  the  most  exalted 
declarations  that  ever  fell  from  human  lips. 

I  Know  That  My  Redeemer  Liveth 

This  bold  sentence  expresses  a  holy  conviction  and  certainty. 
These  are  not  the  words  of  unbelief. 

After  strong  trial  of  affliction,  some  are  tempted  to  denial  of 
God.  ''There  is  no  God,"  they  say.  What  an  unholy  conviction, 
if  in  their  hearts  they  really  cherish  such  a  thought !  Others  ad- 
mit that  there  is  a  God,  but  charge  him  with  cruelty  and  injus- 
tice. Again,  what  an  unholy  conviction!  What  a  comfortless 
assertion !  Then  there  is  the  company  of  the  doubting,  the  uncer- 
tain. They  hardly  know  what  to  think.  But  they  incline  to  unbe- 
lief rather  than  to  the  sweet  assurance  of  faith. 

Job  speaks  with  holy  conviction:  "I  know."  What  refresh- 
ing words!  He  has  fought  against  and  vanquished  the  demon 
of  infidelity.  He  has  laid  the  specter  of  doubt.  He  has  come  out 
of  the  dark  night  of  uncertainty  into  the  bright  and  beautiful 
day  of  certain  knowledge.  Despite  his  sad  plight,  he  rests  happy 
in  the  words:  ''I  know." 

The  certainty  which  characterizes  Job's  words  is  all  the 
stronger  because  of  the  trials  endured.  Man  does  not  develop, 
in  days  of  comparative  ease,  as  he  does  in  days  of  tribulation. 
"The  days  that  try  men's  souls"  are  the  days  that  make  men 
strong — if  they  know  how  to  use  their  opportunities.  As  the 
muscles  of  the  body  are  toughened  by  severe  exercise,  so  does 


Xg  FUNEBAL   SERMONS 

the  discipline  of  the  soul  passing  through  the  fiery  trial  make 
for  spiritual  strength. 

Job's  knowledge  relates  to  a  glorious  fact:  ''My  Redeemer 
liveth."  The  word  Redeemer  calls  to  mind  the  ancient  institu- 
tion of  the  Goel — the  next  of  kin,  the  avenger.  A  man  oppressed 
with  poverty,  a  home  invaded  by  the  ruthless  murderer  might 
look  to  the  next  of  kin  for  help.  Job  declares  his  confidence 
in  an  avenger  who  will  rise  to  defend  him.  He  will  be  taken 
care  of.  His  wrongs  will  be  righted.  His  own  lips  fail  him:  the 
lips  of  another  will  eloquently  and  effectually  plead  his  cause. 
Job's  hands  hang  helpless:  another's  hands  are  stretched  to  help. 
A  mighty  Goel,  avenger,  is  quickly  coming  to  the  rescue ! 

Job  was  probably  not  conscious  of  the  deep  and  wonderful 
meaning  of  the  sentence  he  uttered,  and  perhaps  did  not  realize 
that  he  was  putting  into  the  lips  of  men  of  all  times  one  of  the 
mighty  words  of  the  ages.  He  was  not  fully  conscious  of  the 
Redeemer's  person  and  work.  Yet,  despite  his  limitations,  he 
knew  one  thing  clearly — his  next  of  kin,  his  avenger,  lived  and 
would  save.  To  this  truth  he  clung  with  a  faith  which  could  not 
be  shaken.  He  knew  that  there  was  a  Goel,  or  Redeemer,  and  he 
rested  in  the  knowledge  that  this  Redeemer  was  a  friend  and 
Saviour. 

If  Job,  in  those  far-off,  misty  centuries,  cherished,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  such  a  faith,  what  excuse  is  there  for  us  to  whom  such 
fulness  of  knowledge  has  been  given?  Christ,  our  Vindicator  and 
Avenger,  has  come.  Satan,  sin,  and  death  have  done  their  utmost 
to  ruin  us.  We  are  by  nature  spiritually  poverty-stricken.  The 
passing  years  have  materially  added  to  our  debt  and  the  per- 
plexities which  of  necessity  ensue.  But  our  desperate  case  has 
been  taken  in  hand  by  a  great  challenger.  Jesus  Christ,  the 
world's  Redeemer,  the  God-man,  who  has  fulfilled  all  righteous- 
ness, who  has  made  perfect  blood-atonement,  who  has  risen  from 
the  dead  and  now,  in  heaven,  pleads  our  cause  is  the  great  Goel. 


I   KNOW    THAT    MY  REDEEMER  LIVETH  19 

He  has  dispersed  our  foes.  He  has  spoken  into  our  darkness.  He 
has  brought  us  to  faith.  We  live  because  he  lives.  Our  cause  is 
won. 

Often  did  the  confident  and  triumphant  words  of  Job  come 
to  the  lips  of  our  deceased  brother.  Familiar,  through  wide  read- 
ing and  prolonged  study,  with  the  many  modern  attempts  to  dis- 
credit the  Gospel,  to  rob  Christ  of  his  majesty,  to  destroy 
Christ's  work — even,  at  times,  bewildered,  and  surrendering  to 
questionings  and  doubts — our  brother  nevertheless  found  no 
peace  or  happiness  in  these  liberal  tendencies  and  movements. 
Though  driven,  for  a  while,  to  a  quasi-assent  to  philosophies, 
falsely  so-called,  these  never  became  dear  to  his  heart,  and  he 
fought  desperately  against  them  even  as  a  drowning  man  fights 
for  his  life.  He  discovered  that  many  of  the  theories,  which  had 
captivated  his  mind,  were  speculations,  unsupported  by  proof. 
His  associates  were  brilliant  men,'  bold  thinkers,  but  only 
too  often  led  away  by  pseudo-science.  In  their  companionship, 
their  intellectual  conversation,  their  scholarly  attainments,  their 
culture  and  refinement,  he  found  some  measure  of  satisfaction. 
Notwithstanding  the  charm  and  glamor  thus  thrown  around  him, 
he  often  felt  homesick.  He  longed  for  something  different,  some- 
thing better,  something  to  satisfy  head  and  heart.  Scholarship, 
culture,  fame,  were  poor  substitutes  for  the  living  God.  Happily 
even  in  the  darkest  day  he  had  not  wholly  cast  aside  the  Book 
his  mother  had  taught  him  to  prize.  Tender  memories  of  an  old- 
fashioned  home,  of  old-fashioned  parents  and  piety,  could  not 
lightly  be  forgotten.  There  were  moments  when  he  turned  to 
the  Sacred  Book.  The  Spirit  of  God  once  again  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  work  in  his  heart.  The  operations  of  divine  grace  were 
not  in  vain.  Our  talented  friend  came  upon  a  day  when  beset- 
ting fears  and  doubts  vanished,  when  humble  faith  in  the  Sav- 
ior once  again  had  a  place  in  his  heart.  It  was  a  precious  day 
when  our  brother  could  say:  *'I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth.'' 


20  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

**I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives: 
What  comfort  this  sweet  sentence  gives!" 

Job  might  not  know  how  his  deliverance  would  be  effected,  but 
he  was  certain  that  he  had  a  mighty  friend  and  deliverer  whose 
salvation  would  appear  in  due  time.  In  this  conviction  he  had 
rest  and  peace.  He  had  no  need  to  worry.  He  was  comforted. 
Poverty,  loss  of  loved  ones,  physical  loathsomeness,  could  not 
shake  his  faith  in  the  unseen  Redeemer.  He  felt  that  his  cause 
was  in  good  hands. 

The  friend  whose  mortal  remains  we  lay  in  the  grave  today 
was  continually  comforted  by  the  sweet  sentence  I  have  chosen 
for  my  text.  This  was  to  him  no  mere  religious  commonplace — a 
thing  to  be  said  formally  and  mechanically.  He  had  proved  it  to 
be  a  living  word.  It  expressed  his  inmost  faith.  He  had  lived 
through  bitter  experiences,  but  had  finally  come  to  peace  in  God. 
He  repeated  this  passage  over  and  over  again.  He  constantly 
revolved  it  in  his  mind.  He  delighted  in  looking  at  it  from 
every  angle,  always  seeking  to  discover  in  it  new  bounties,  even 
as  the  facets  of  the  diamond  exposed  at  different  angles  reveal 
unexpected  beauties.  With  this  word  on  his  lips  our  brother 
died. 

My  mourning  friends :  What  rich  comfort  the  text  brings  you. 
You,  his  wife,  understood,  as  did  no  other  human  being,  his  soul 
struggles.  You  sympathized  with  him.  With  earnest  prayers, 
with  your  unfaltering  faith,  with  your  never-ceasing  hope,  with 
your  devout  use  of  the  Scriptures,  you  were  a  real  helper.  How 
precious  to  your  soul  ought  this  text  to  be !  It  has  for  you  such 
blessed  and  tender  associations.  Day  by  day,  you  will  ponder  it 
and  draw  strength  out  of  it.  In  the  dark  hour  through  which 
you  are  now  passing  think  of  your  Goel,  your  Redeemer,  who  lives 
as  your  Savior,  reigns  as  your  King,  and  as  your  Advocate  pleads 
your  cause  in  heaven.  Let  this  word  be  a  bond  of  fellowship 
between  you  and  your  Redeemer,  and  through  faith  in  the  living 


I    KNOW    THAT    MY  REDEEMER  LIVETH  21 

Redeemer  may  you  be  united  in  spiritual  fellowship  with  your 
loved  one. 

Young  people  are  hero-worshipers.  They  admire  the  pow^erful, 
the  learned,  the  successful.  You  sons  and  daughters  had  a  hero  right 
in  your  own  family.  Your  father  had  rich  and  varied  knowledge ; 
he  earnestly  and  persistently  sought  the  truth.  He  was  a  good  father 
to  you.  He  watched  over  you  and  cared  for  you.  He  sought  to  pro- 
tect you  from  every  evil.  He  endeavored  to  promote  your  ad- 
vancement in  every  direction — physical,  mental,  moral,  and  spir- 
itual. And  he  was  your  companion.  He  loved  to  be  with  you, 
and  never  were  you  happier  than  when  in  the  company  of  your 
parents.  Never  will  you  hear  this  text  without  being  reminded 
of  your  father's  thoughtfulness  and  tenderness,  and  especially  of 
his  triumphant  faith.  Oh,  I  beseech  you,  let  the  same  faith  dwell 
in  you  which  dwelt  in  your  father's  heart.  Then,  too,  will  a  fond 
mother  ever  have  reason  to  rejoice  in  her  children. 

May  I  say  just  a  word  to  you  who,  professionally  and  socially, 
were  associated  with  the  deceased?  You  respected  and  admired 
your  friend.  He  was  a  congenial  companion.  To  all  of  you,  I 
have  reason  to  believe,  he  testified  of  his  joy  in  Christ.  Men 
engaged  as  you  are,  need  hardly  be  reminded  of  the  danger  to 
which  you  are  daily  exposed.  Ambition,  pride,  success  have  slain 
their  tens  of  thousands.  You  too  need  a  Savior.  Learning,  suc- 
cess, and  the  like  will  not  save  you.  I  sincerely  hope  that  all  of 
you  can  say:  '^I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives."  Or,  if  any  of 
you  must  say  in  the  plaintive  words  of  the  poet, 

**The  night  is  dark. 

And  I  am  far  from  home,'' 

may  you  not  be  content  to  remain  where  you  are,  but  seek  and 
find  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  the  truth  which  Job  found  and 
confessed. 


22  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

You  have  heard  and  been  thrilled  by  the  soprano  aria,  **I 
Know  That  My  Eedeemer  Liveth,"  from  the  *' Messiah"  of  Han- 
del. The  composer  seems  to  have  caught  something  of  the  great 
confidence  which  inspired  Job.  ''I  know."  The  words  are  re- 
peated. Then  with  what  elevation  but  withal  the  beautiful  com- 
posure and  strength  of  one  certain  of  his  faith  rings  out  the  mes- 
sage which,  whether  in  spoken  word  or  in  enrapturing  song,  has 
both  comforted  and  stirred  the  hearts  of  myriads  of  the  broken- 
hearted. May  you  and  I  be  enabled,  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  to  say 
and  sing: 

"I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives: 

What  comfort  this  sweet  sentence  gives! 
He  lives,  he  lives,  who  once  was  dead, 
He  lives,  my  ever-living  Head. 

*'He  lives,  all  glory  to  his  name! 
He  lives,  my  Jesus,  still  the  same; 

0  the  sweet  joy  this  sentence  gives, 

1  know  that  my  Eedeemer  lives!'* 

Amen. 


BEHOLD,    THE   BRIDEGROOM   COMETH! 
By  Rev.  W.  Hoppe,  D.  D. 

"And  while  they  went  to  buy,  the  bridegroom  came;  and  they  that  were 
ready  went  in  with  htm  to  the  marriage:  and  the  door  was  shut." — Matt. 
25:  10. 

Occasion:  For  a  Devout  Church  Member 

Under  various  figures  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  tries  to  call 
attention  to  the  nearness  of  his  coming.  The  more  insistent  he 
is  in  the  message  the  more  careless  men  seem  to  become.  Yet 
there  is  no  subject  about  which  men  ask  questions  as  much  as 
about  the  end  of  the  world  and  about  the  judgment.  They  would 
know  the  exact  hour  of  this  occurrence.  They  desire  to  know 
the  character  of  this  judgment.  This  is  neither  idle  curiosity 
nor  yet  a  purpose  to  heed  Jesus'  call  to  repentance  and  a  new 
life  in  him.  In  his  self-reliance  man  feels  that  he  is  able  to  cope 
with  the  situation  on  his  own  terms  and  with  his  own  capabili- 
ties. It  has  become  customary  for  men  today  to  speak  of  them- 
selves and  of  others,  especially  of  those  who  have  died,  in  the 
most  commendatory  manner.  A  man-made  moral  standard  is 
all-sufficient.  Faith  and  dependence  upon  Jesus  Christ  for  salva- 
tion have  been  discarded  as  useless  and  unnecessary  adjuncts. 
The  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  has  become  void,  for  the  judgment 
will  be  according  to  man's  righteousness  and  his  conception  of 
the  good.  The  parable  from  which  our  text  is  taken  would  show 
us  the  falsity  of  all  this.  The  teaching  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles 
is  very  clear  on  this  subject. 

To  the  man  who  depends  on  his  own  morality,  it  may  be 
discomfiting  to  know  that  a  righteous  and  just  Judge  shall  sit 

3 


24  FUNERAL    SEE MONS 

in  judgment  at  the  last  day.  To  the  Christian  this  is  the  source 
of  the  greatest  assurance  and  confidence.  The  most  consoling 
article  of  faith  is  the  confession  which  a  Christian  makes  of 
Christ — "I  believe  that  thou  shalt  come  to  be  my  Judge."  Nor 
does  he  think  of  this  Judge  as  of  an  austere  and  cruel  man 
seeking  to  bring  destruction  and  condemnation  on  his  creatures, 
but  rather  as  of  the  Bridegroom  who  comes  to  take  home  with 
him  the  bride  of  his  choice  and  purchase.  Whether  it  be  the  end 
of  an  individual  life  or  the  end  of  the  world,  to  the  Christian  it  is 
the  cry  which  is  heard  at  midnight — 

"Behold,  the  Bridegroom  Cometh!" 
I. 

There  is  no  more  glorious  prospect  than  this.  To  the  question, 
''Shall  I  be  saved?"  the  answer  comes  concerning  his  coming. 
Our  desire  is  to  penetrate  into  the  unknown  of  eternity  and  learn 
to  know  what  God  has  hidden  from  our  view.  But  it  is  not  nec- 
essary for  us  to  know  more  than  that  the  Day  of  the  Lord  is  at 
hand.  Life  in  all  its  various  activities  and  experiences  has  been 
a  succession  of  limitations  and  disappointments.  We  expected 
so  much.  There  were  such  brilliant  prospects  before  us.  Our 
parents  had  such  high  hopes  of  what  we  should  accomplish  in 
the  world.  Whether  the  young  die  in  their  youth  or  whether  the 
old  totter  to  the  grave  in  their  old  age,  life  has  been  mostly  a 
shut  door.  All  the  expectations,  prospects,  hopes  have  practically 
failed  of  realization.  Yet  men  hope  on  for  the  vain  things  which 
cannot  endure  beyond  this  fleeting  and  passing  life.  The  fact 
that  they  have  not  attained  hitherto  does  not  deter  them  from 
hoping  and  striving  after  the  same  things  in  the  future. 

Even  the  possession  of  these  earthly  goods  and  pleasures  does 
not  afford  lasting  satisfaction.  The  acquiring  of  some  makes  men 
hunger  for  more.    The  more  they  get  the  more  they  desire.     So 


BEHOLD,  THE  BRIDEaROOM  COMETH!      25 

the  very  process  of  getting  these  possessions  causes  pain  and 
anxiety.  The  foolishness  of  all  this  becomes  apparent  when 
another  prospect  is  open  to  us  which  does  not  deceive.  While 
men  are  striving  after  things  they  can  never  really  call  their 
own,  God  has  prepared  for  them  and  offers  to  them  that  which 
endures.  He  has  created  them  so  as  to  enable  them  to  look 
upwards.  Yet  their  eyes  are  riveted  to  the  ground.  Although 
he  has  made  them  in  his  own  image,  sin  has  so  distorted  it  as  to 
make  it  unrecognizable.  More  than  that  it  has  so  changed  his 
whole  nature  as  to  make  him  spurn  and  despise  what  God  would 
give  him  for  good  and  deliberately  chooses  that  which  is  for  his 
own  hurt. 

However  discouraging  this  may  be,  it  does  not  alter  God's 
proffer.  The  glorious  prospect  of  sin  forgiven,  of  the  life  of  the 
new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus  and  of  the  life  in  his  presence, 
forever  remains.  The  Bridegroom  comes  and  his  own  await  his 
coming  with  longing  and  ever  watch  thereunto  by  prayer  and 
supplications.  To  a  great  extent  we  have  lost  every  sense  of  the 
Lord's  presence  and  of  his  coming  again  soon.  But  amid  all  the 
turmoils  and  cares  of  this  present  life  there  remains  this  assur- 
ance that  Jesus  Christ  is  coming.  The  old  things  shall  then  have 
passed  away.  This  it  is  that  makes  life  worth  the  living.  The 
bride  shall  not  be  left  desolate,  her  Bridegroom  cometh  to  her. 
In  these  days  of  waiting  the  bride  is  filled  with  the  most  joyous 
anticipation  of  the  things  that  shall  be  hers  in  that  life  with  her 
Bridegroom.  She  has  been  promised  much  and  she  knows  that  in 
that  day  when  all  things  shall  be  revealed  she  shall  receive 
beyond  her  highest  expectations,  for  she  shall  be  with  her  Lord 
and  shall  see  him  whom  she  loves. 

II. 

Amid  these  glorious  prospects  anxious  fears  crowd  in.  The 
cause  of  these  fears  is  sin  and,  therefore,  they  continue  to  harass 


26  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

the  soul  so  persistently.  When  Satan  finds  that  he  cannot  assail 
our  assurance  of  salvation  he  begets  the  fear  of  this  life.  How 
men  worry  about  the  competence  of  this  world !  We  have  enough 
for  today,  but  we  fear  that  which  the  morrow  may  hold  in  store. 
This  fear  is  not  necessarily,  although  generally,  one  of  what  we 
shall  eat  and  what  we  shall  drink  and  wherewithal  we  shall  be 
clothed.  We  exercise  ourselves  mostly  with  this  thought  and 
spend  our  days  in  figuring  on  the  problem  of  dollars  and  cents. 
The  life  of  the  majority  of  human  beings  is  occupied  with  con- 
cern about  today  and  tomorrow,  with  the  animal  side  of  our 
nature.  To  this  must  be  added  the  fear  concerning  health,  station 
in  life,  honor  among  men  with  all  their  attendant  train  of  thoughts 
and  anxieties.  The  future  is  so  dark  and  as  years  go  on  the 
feeling  of  helplessness  takes  possession  of  men's  hearts  and  they 
tremble  at  the  prospect. 

After  the  conscience  has  been  aroused  a  new  fear  enters  the 
heart.  It  is  the  fear  of  sin.  The  remembrance  of  the  past  life 
with  its  transgressions  and  iniquities  awakens  misgivings  about 
the  future.  With  the  pardon,  the  proneness  to  sin  has  not  been 
removed.  The  old  Adam  remains.  A  new  battle  must  be  waged 
each  day.  That  of  yesterday  gives  no  assurance  of  victory  tomor- 
row. The  new  relationship  of  sons  requires  a  new  obedience,  yet 
the  old  tendency  to  sin  binds  with  rigid  fetters  and  seems  to  pre- 
clude any  possibility  of  final  victory.  St.  Paul  experienced  this 
and  is  forced  to  exclaim:  ''O  wretched  man  that  I  am!  Who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?" 

This  fear  begets  another  fear.  With  anxiety  the  question 
comes  again  arid  again:  Shall  I  be  saved?  "Who  shall  abide  in 
thy  tabernacle?  Who  shall  dwell  in  thy  holy  hill?"  Can  a  sin- 
ner so  vile  ever  stand  in  God's  holy  presence?  There  is  no 
weapon  which  the  devil  wields  with  such  skill  and  evident  delight 
as  this.  When  the  Christian  looks  to  himself  he  finds  nothing 
but  sin  and  death,  but  when  he  turns  his  eyes  Christward  and 


BEHOLD,  THE  BRIDEGROOM  OOMETHI      27 

trusts,  new  light  and  new  hope  come  to  him.  Nothing  can  please 
the  devil  more  than  that  we  rely  on  our  own  works  and  right- 
eousness and  then  fail  in  the  final  test.  What  if  sore  trials  come ! 
What  if  our  life  here  be  marked  by  failure  in  whatever  we  have 
undertaken!  What  if  in  our  weakness  we  have  not  always 
obeyed!  What  if  the  world  condemn  us!  "Let  no  man  glory 
in  men:  for  all  things  are  yours;  whether  Paul,  or  Apollos,  or 
Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death,  or  things  present,  or 
things  to  come ;  all  are  yours ;  and  ye  are  Christ 's ;  and  Christ  is 
God's."  In  the  face  of  such  promises  the  poor  human  heart  has 
no  just  right  to  be  anxiously  afraid.  **Who  is  he  that  condem- 
neth?  It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea,  rather,  that  is  risen  again,  who 
is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh  intercession 
for  us.  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?  shall  trib- 
ulation, or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or 
peril,  or  sword?  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  con- 
querors through  him  that  loved  us.  For  I  am  persuaded,  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers, 
nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor 
any  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God, 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  It  is  on  this  account  that  the 
Apostle  can  write:  ^'I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord." 

Lack  of  confidence  in  Jesus  Christ  as  a  personal  Savior  pro- 
duces a  fear  of  death.  There  is  nothing  in  human  life  so  pitiable 
as  this  fear.  The  bride  is  not  afraid  of  the  hour  when  her  Bride- 
groom is  to  appear.  Her  heart  rejoices  in  contemplation  of  the 
happy  moment.  Her  only  anxiety  is  that  she  may  not  be  ready 
nor  yet  meet  for  him  when  he  comes.  Her  dread  is  not  occa- 
sioned by  her  leaving  her  home  and  going  to  live  with  him.  Yet 
that  is  the  fear  so  many  Christians  have.  They  dread  to  leave 
this  house  of  clay  and  fear  for  those  things  which  may  be  here- 
after in  eternity. 


28  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

**Who  would  burdens  bear 
To  grunt  and  sweat  under  a  weary  life, 
But  that  the  dread  of  something  after  death, 
The  undiscover'd  country  from  whose  bourn 
No  traveler  returns,  puzzles  the  will 
And  makes  us  rather  bear  the  ills  we  have 
Than  fly  to  others  that  we  know  not  of?" 

To  the  Christian  it  is  not  an  ''undiscover'd  country."  It  is  the 
Father's  house,  the  heavenly  home.  It  is  the  place  where  Christ 
Jesus  has  gone  and  to  it  his  soul  desires  to  go. 

III. 

But  this  cannot  take  away  the  bitter  reproaches  which  his 
disloyalty  and  indifference  to  his  Lord  produce.  Only  too  often 
these  come  too  late.  Life  is  spent  for  the  world  and  the  things 
this  world  stands  for  and  at  the  last  moment  as  death  approaches 
the  desire  comes  to  set  at  rights  the  things  which  have  been 
neglected  for  so  long.  Then  the  pastor,  the  ambassador  for 
Christ,  is  called  in  to  pray  for  the  soul's  eternal  welfare  and  to 
give  assurance  that  all  is  well.  Too  often  he  is  convinced  that 
the  door  is  already  shut.  It  is  the  case  of  the  foolish  of  this 
world  who  depend  so  fully  upon  themselves  and  their  own  work 
and  merit  as  to  have  forgotten  the  oil  for  their  lamps.  The  closed 
door  shuts  out  all  possibility  of  entrance.  No  reliance  on  human 
aid,  nor  indeed  any  help  given  us  by  our  fellow-man  will  avail  to 
unbar  that  door.  A  life  that  is  given  to  self,  to  the  world  and  to 
sin  will  not  be  found  in  Christ,  and  only  they  who  are  in  Christ 
have  hope  of  entering  with  him  before  the  door  is  shut.  No  man 
shall  stand  in  the  perfection  of  another  human  being.  In  fact  no 
man  can  do  more  than  is  needed  for  his  own  salvation,  yea,  he 
can  add  nothing  to  that  salvation  by  all  the  good  works  which 
he  may  do.  No  pope,  nor  council,  nor  priest  can  sell  superero- 
gated  works  of  Christ  or  the  saints.  ' '  Could  there  be  a  prophetic 


BEHOLD,  THE  BRIDEGROOM  COMETH!      29 

irony  in  the  advice  of  the  wise  virgins  to  the  foolish,  'Go  ye  to 
them  that  sell'?  The  irony  is  terrible  when  taken  in  connection 
with  the  sequel,  that  when  they  returned  with  the  oil  so  pro- 
cured it  availed  them  nothing." 

These  bitter  reproaches  assail  the  righteous  as  well  as  the 
wicked.  The  parable  tells  us  that  they  all  slept.  Even  the  wise 
virgins  could  not  watch  as  their  Lord  had  commanded  them  to 
do.  But  their  sleep  was  not  that  of  security.  The  foolish  virgins 
had  waited  with  preparing  to  meet  the  Bridegroom  until  they 
heard  the  cry  of  his  coming.  Then  they  were  not  ready  for  his 
coming.  It  is  the  experience  of  so  many  today.  They  are  con- 
stantly putting  off  to  some  more  convenient  time  that  which  the 
Lord  has  commanded  them  to  do  now.  However  uncertain  the 
time  of  his  coming  may  be,  the  event  itself  is  absolutely  sure. 
Amid  all  the  vicissitudes  of  this  life  this  one  thing  alone  is  posi- 
tive and  unchangeable:  "The  Bridegroom  cometh." 

IV. 

What  solemn  lessons  these  bitter  reproaches  teach  us! 
"Teaching  us  that,  denying  all  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts, 
we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  in  this  present 
world ;  looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the  glorious  appearing 
of  the  great  God  and  our  Savior  Jesus  Christ."  Whatever  of 
failure  the  past  days  of  our  life  may  have  recorded;  today, 
tomorrow  should  open  a  new  page  wherein  is  written  in  large 
letters:  "The  Lord  he  is  God.  Him  will  I  serve."  Unless  the 
reproaches  shall  continue  in  their  bitterness  we  must  not  only 
acknowledge  with  sincere  sorrow  and  repentance  these  our  mani- 
fold transgressions,  but  must  fervently  desire  the  blessedness  of 
those  whose  sins  are  forgiven  and  whose  transgressions  are  cov- 
ered and  long  for  those  consolations  which  are  promised  unto 
them  that  mourn.    Then  will  we  further  confess  and  pray:  "It 


30 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


is  our  solemn  purpose  to  amend  our  sinful  lives,  and  to  live  more 
godly,  righteously  and  soberly  than  we  have  hitherto  done.  "We 
beseech  thee,  0  Lord,  to  enable  us,  through  the  assistance  of  thy 
Holy  Spirit,  to  carry  this  resolution  into  effect."  Our  sins,  our 
transgressions,  every  evil  inclination  of  our  heart,  every  willing 
to  do  the  wrong  should  be  a  powerful  incentive  in  our  lives  to 
eschew  evil  and  do  good ;  to  seek  peace  and  ensue  it. 


But  this  is  no  time  for  earthly  sorrow.  The  world  may  mourn 
without  hope,  but  the  child  of  God  has  a  lively  hope.  The  anx- 
ious fears  and  bitter  reproaches  have  not  been  able  to  take  away 
the  glorious  prospects.  Therefore  he  looks  into  the  future  with 
joyous  hope.  The  promises  of  God  do  not  lie  in  the  far  distant 
future.  They  are  a  very  present  posssession  of  his  children. 
They  know  that  their  sins  are  forgiven.  The  earnest  of  this  is 
given  them  in  the  one  and  only  sacrifice  which  avails  for  sin, 
the  crucifixion  of  the  Lamb  of  God,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  They 
need  not  hope,  that  at  some  time  in  eternity,  after  they  have 
paid  a  penalty  in  purgatory,  will  they  receive  assurance  that 
their  sins  are  blotted  out.  Now  that  Christ  has  died,  yea,  rather 
is  risen  again,  they  know  that  the  last  penalty  of  their  guilt  has 
been  paid.  Their  sins  are  forgiven  as  abundantly  and  com- 
pletely as  Jesus  Christ  hath  merited  by  his  sufferings  and  death, 
and  commanded  to  be  preached  by  the  Gospel  throughout  the 
world.  This  is  the  source  of  joy  and  peace  to  the  believing  heart. 
There  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ 
Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit. 

This  surety  of  forgiveness  of  sins  is  the  earnest  of  salvation 
in  Christ,  for  where  there  is  forgiveness  of  sins  there  life  and 
salvation  are  also.  As  Christ  has  suffered,  the  Just  for  the 
unjust,  he  obtained  salvation  for  us.    "Though  he  were  a  Son, 


BEHOLD,    THE    BRIDEGROOM    COMETH!  31 

yet  he  learned  obedience  by  the  things  which  he  suffered;  and 
being  made  perfect,  he  became  the  author  of  eternal  salvation 
unto  all  them  that  obey  him.''  As  St.  Paul  writes  to  the  Thes- 
salonians:  "God  hath  from  the  beginning  chosen  you  to  salva- 
tion through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth." 
This  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ  becomes  an  ever  surer  reality  by  a 
life  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

But  God  has  increased  our  joy  and  our  hope  by  the  promise 
of  eternal  life.  Here  again  our  thoughts  are  not  directed  to 
something  that  shall  be  after  this  life  on  earth.  As  we  stand  in 
the  presence  of  the  reaper,  Death,  our  confidence  is  the  surer. 
''And  this  is  eternal  life,  that  they  might  know  thee  the  only 
true  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent."  In  a  certain 
sense  eternal  life  is  to  come  after  we  have  finished  our  course 
here  in  this  world,  yet  it  is  just  as  true  that  we  have  it  now.  It 
enhances  our  joy  and  strengthens  our  hope  to  be  able  to  look 
beyond  and  to  know  that  God  has  reserved  unspeakable  things 
for  his  children  in  heaven  above  with  himself.  Again  we  lay 
away  the  earthly  form  of  a  pilgrim  and  stranger  in  the  full  hope 
of  the  resurrection  to  eternal  life.  Sorrow  fills  our  heart  at  the 
separation  from  a  friend.  We  shall  miss  the  companionship  and 
love,  and  our  hearts  are  heavy.  But  we  may  not  permit  selfish 
thoughts  to  intervene  between  us  and  our  God.  Even  in  the  hour 
of  bereavement  and  sorrow  we  cannot  but  hear  the  midnight 
cry:  "The  Bridegroom  cometh!" 

In  him  is  our  joyous  hope.  At  last  the  burdens  of  life  are 
removed.  Its  sins  and  transgressions  are  ended.  Blessed  is  he 
who  has  been  found  of  the  Lamb  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of 
the  world.  What  a  loving  warning  Jesus  gives  them  that  are  his ! 
Scarcely  had  the  cry  been  heard  at  midnight  when  the  Bride- 
groom came.  Then  there  is  no  longer  time  for  preparation.  As 
soon  as  he  comes,  he  will  enter  into  the  marriage-hall  with  them 
that  are  his  and  the  door  is  shut.  After  this  life  comes  the  judg- 


32  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

ment  of  all  men.  For  you  and  every  one  to  whom  death  comes  in 
the  natural  way  it  is  the  determining  time.  That  is  the  midnight 
cry.  After  that  there  is  no  further  time  for  preparation.  Those 
who  have  not  supplied  themselves  with  oil  will  find  the  door  shut. 
The  Lord  Jesus  desires  that  all  shall  be  ready  when  he  comes. 

How  necessary  then  for  us  to  watch  and  pray!  The  feast  of 
the  marriage  of  the  King's  Son  to  his  chosen  bride  is  at  hand. 
It  is  no  time  for  gloom  and  despair.  As  we  draw  nearer  to  that 
glorious  event  our  hearts  should  be  filled  with  joy,  our  mouth 
with  laughter  and  our  tongues  with  singing.  ''The  Lord  is  at 
hand."  It  is  the  harvest  time  when  men  rejoice  and  are  glad. 
Death  cannot  rob  us  of  this  our  joy  in  Christ.  His  entrance  into 
our  family  circle  may  disquiet  for  a  moment,  but  in  Christ  is 
our  joy,  in  Christ  is  our  salvation.  ''Death,  where  is  thy  sting? 
Grave,  where  is  thy  victory?  But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  giv- 
eth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  No  power 
of  hell,  no  thraldom  of  death  can  overthrow  our  hope,  our  joy- 
ous hope.  Christ,  our  door  into  the  kingdom,  will  keep  us  against 
that  day  and  grant  us  abundant  entrance  by  an  open  door  into 
eternal  life.  ' '  God  is  pledged ;  weak  doubtings  hence !  This  shall 
be  my  confidence."   Amen. 


THE   CHRISTIAN'S  COMFORT  IN  VIEW  OF  DEATH 
By  Prof.  J.  Stump,  D.  D. 

**Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will 
fear  uo  evil;  for  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort 
me." — Psalm  23:  4. 

Occasion:  For  a  Christian 

The  psalm  of  which  these  words  form  a  part  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  familiar  of  all  the  psalms.  It  is  a  psalm 
learned  in  the  days  of  early  childhood,  and  cherished  in  after 
years  as  a  precious  possession.  It  expresses  the  believer's  confi- 
dence in  God's  loving  care  and  protection  amid  all  the  varying 
circumstances  of  life.  In  joy  and  in  sorrow,  in  mirth  or  in  grief, 
the  believer  is  able  to  say,  ''The  Lord  is  my  shepherd;  I  shall 
not  want."  And  today  in  the  midst  of  the  deep  shadows  of 
affliction  the  psalm  comes  to  us  with  a  consoling  message. 

The  imagery  of  the  psalm  is  drawn  from  the  early  scenes  of 
David's  life.  He  had  been  a  shepherd,  and  he  knew  by  experience 
the  tender  feeling  which  a  true  shepherd  has  for  his  sheep.  He 
calls  God  his  shepherd.  And  in  so  doing  he  voices  his  confidence 
in  God's  care  and  protection.  In  the  midst  of  danger  and  death 
he  is  safe.  No  harm  shall  befall  him.  ''Though  I  walk  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,"  he  says,  "I  will  fear  no 
evil;  for  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort 
me." 

Let  us,  on  the  basis  of  our  text,  consider 

The  Christian's  Confidence  in  View  of  Death, 
noting 

I.  The  Solemn  Event  to  Which  the  Psalmist  Looks  Forward. 


34  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

II.  The  Camforting  Language  in  Which  He  Describes  It. 
III.  The  Confidence  with  Which  He  Views  Its  Coming. 

I.  The  Solemn  Event,  to  Which  the  Psalmist  Looks  Forward. 

We  must  all  descend  into  the  valley.  The  psalmist  realized  this 
solemn  truth.  The  time  will  come  when  he  must  walk  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  And  as  the  psalmist  realized 
it,  so  every  believer  realizes  it.  He  knows  that  he  must  die.  He 
looks  forward  to  death.  He  knows  that  however  much  death  may 
delay,  there  is  no  escape  from  it  at  last.  For  ''as  for  man,  his 
days  are  as  grass ;  as  a  flower  of  the  field,  so  he  flourisheth.  For 
the  wind  passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone ;  and  the  place  thereof 
shall  know  it  no  more."  "It  is  appointed  unto  men  once  to 
die."  And  "there  is  no  discharge  in  that  war."  "No  man  hath 
power  over  the  Spirit  to  retain  the  spirit."  "They  that  trust 
in  their  wealth  and  boast  themselves  in  the  multitude  of  their 
riches;  none  of  them  can  by  any  means  redeem  his  brother,  nor 
give  to  God  a  ransom  for  him  that  he  should  still  live."  At  best 
"the  days  of  our  years  are  threescore  years  and  ten;  and  if  by 
reason  of  strength  they  be  fourscore  years,  yet  is  their  strength 
labor  and  sorrow;  for  it  is  soon  cut  off  and  we  fly  away." 

The  Christian  knows  that  Christ  has  redeemed  him  from 
eternal  death;  but  he  knows  just  as  surely  that  there  is  no 
escape  for  him  from  the  temporal  death.  He  must  die,  in  order 
that  his  body  may  rise  again  a  new  body,  transformed  and 
glorified  and  fitted  to  be  the  eternal  abode  of  the  glorified  soul. 

We  must  all  descend  into  the  valley.  We  descend  by  various 
paths,  some  by  one  disease  and  some  by  another,  some  by  linger- 
ing sickness,  and  others  by  sudden  accident.  We  descend  at 
various  ages,  some  in  early  infancy,  some  in  youth,  some  in  the 
maturity  of  manhood  or  womanhood,  and  some  in  old  age.  The 
path  and  the  time  are  determined  by  the  Shepherd.  He  leadeth 
us.   Our  times  are  in  his  hands.  He  has  numbered  even  the  hairs 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    COMFORT    IN    DEATH  35 

of  our  head.  The  time  when  he  will  lead  us  into  the  valley  may 
be  much  nearer  than  we  think.  Who  can  tell  what  even  a  day 
may  bring  forth?  Two  weeks  ago  none  of  us  imagined  that  we 
would  assemble  here  today  around  the  casket  of  our  departed 
brother.  Today  we  are  well:  tomorrow  we  may  be  dead.  Who 
knows  how  near  his  end  may  be?  How  many  persons  are  today 
planning  for  long  years  in  the  future!  But  will  they  live  to 
carry  out  their  plans?   God  alone  knows. 

It  is  a  solemn  prospect.  It  means  a  saying  farewell  to  earth 
and  our  dear  ones.  It  means  a  closing  of  our  eyes  forever  on  the 
scenes  of  this  world.  It  means  a  going  away  never  to  return.  It 
means  the  laying  down  of  our  life  work.  We  shall  not  return  to 
complete  what  we  may  have  left  unfinished.  We  shall  not  come 
back  to  perform  what  we  may  have  omitted  or  neglected.  We 
shall  never  be  seen  again  in  our  homes  and  places  of  employment. 
The  places  that  knew  us  shall  know  us  no  more.  As  we  contem- 
plate this  prospect,  what  an  incentive  it  forms  for  us  to  do  what 
our  hands  find  to  do  while  it  is  day,  before  the  night  cometh 
when  no  man  can  work. 

It  means  a  going  forth  alone.  On  other  journeys  our  friends 
arid  relatives  may  accompany  us.  Their  companionship  may  cheer 
and  encourage  us.  But  when  we  descend  into  the  valley  we  go 
alone.  Friends  may  be  faithful  and  true;  and  our  dear  ones 
may  love  us  with  a  love  that  is  deep  and  tender.  But  they  can- 
not go  with  us  beyond  the  grave. 

It  means  a  going  forth  to  our  eternal  destiny.  When  death 
comes  the  period  of  probation  is  over.  The  time  allotted  to  us 
for  hearing  and  obeying  the  Gospel  is  past.  The  time  for  eternal 
rewards  or  retribution  is  at  hand.  The  descent  into  the  valley  is 
the  transition  to  eternal  joy  or  woe.  With  it  our  destiny  is 
determined  forever.  We  go  to  hear  Christ  say:  ''Come,  ye  blessed 
of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,"  or  to  hear  him  say,  ''Depart  from  me, 


36  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels."  Surely  death  is  a  solemn  and  momentous  event.  All 
the  changes  in  this  earthly  life  are  insignificant  by  comparison 
with  the  change  which  we  call  death. 

II.  The  Comforting  Language  in  Which  the  Psalmist  De- 
scribes Death.  He  does  not  say  ''the  valley  of  death,"  but  the 
"valley  of  the  shadow  of  death."  For  the  believer  there  is  no 
death;  there  is  only  the  shadow  of  death.  Since  Jesus  has  died 
and  risen  again,  death  is  robbed  of  its  sting  and  the  grave  of  its 
victory.  What  we  call  death  is  only  the  entrance  upon  a  new  and 
glorious  life  above.  Trusting  in  Jesus  the  believer  is  able  to  say, 
"I  would  not  live  alway;  no,  welcome  the  tomb!  Since  Jesus 
has  lain  there,  I  dread  not  its  gloom. ' '  Through  the  death  and 
resurrection  of  Jesus  death  has  become  for  the  Christian  the 
portal  to  eternal  bliss.  It  is  only  a  sleep  with  a  blessed  awak- 
ening. It  is  a  falling  asleep  amid  the  toil  and  turmoil  of  earth 
to  awake  amid  the  rest  and  peace  of  heaven.  Death  is  only  a 
shadow  of  what  it  would  have  been  without  Christ,  and  of  what 
it  is  for  those  who  are  living  without  Christ  in  the  world. 

What  a  comfort  this  is  to  the  dying  Christian !  It  is  not  death 
that  comes  upon  him,  but  only  the  shadow  of  death.  It  is  only 
a  change  for  the  better:  a  laying  aside  of  mortality  to  put  on 
immortality.  For  when  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  the  dead  shall 
be  raised  incorruptible ;  the  soul  shall  be  reunited  with  the 
glorified  body;  and  transformed  in  body  and  soul  the  believer 
shall  enter  in  and  dwell  with  Christ  forever. 

And  what  a  comfort  this  is  to  the  bereaved!  They  see  their 
dear  one  passing  away.  But  they  know  that  he  is  only  falling 
asleep  in  the  Lord,  and  that  this  sleep  is  a  blessed  one.  The 
waking  shall  be  in  eternal  joy.  For  St.  Paul  tells  us,  ''I  would 
not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning  them  which 
are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not  even  as  others  which  have  no 
hope.   For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  died  and  rose  again, 


THE    OHEISTIAN'S    COMPORT    IN    DEATH  37 

even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him.'* 
'^Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead  and  become  the  first  fruits 
of  them  that  slept.  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive.  But  every  man  in  his  own  order:  Christ 
the  first  fruits,  afterwards  they  that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming.'' 
"As  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also  bear 
the  image  of  the  heavenly." 

III.  The  Confidence  with  Which  the  Psalmist  Views  the  Com- 
ing of  Death.  He  says,  ' '  Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil."  And  why?  Because  ''thou  art 
with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me."  In  the  darkest 
and  loneliest  valley  the  sheep  is  safe,  because  the  shepherd  is 
with  it,  guarding  it  from  danger  and  protecting  it  from  harm. 
The  Christian  is  safe  in  death,  because  God  is  with  him  and 
keeping  him.  He  goes  forth  alone,  and  yet  not  alone;  for  the 
Good  Shepherd  is  with  him  to  guard  him  with  his  rod  and  staff. 
The  Good  Shepherd  who  is  with  his  sheep  always  certainly  will 
not  forsake  him  in  the  hour  of  his  greatest  need.  He  will  uphold 
the  believer,  and  will  guide  him  in  safety  to  his  heavenly  home. 
As  the  end  approaches  he  says  to  the  believer:  "Fear  thou  not; 
for  I  am  with  thee:  be  not  dismayed;  for  I  am  thy  God:  I  will 
strengthen  thee:  yea,  I  will  help  thee;  yea,  I  will  uphold  thee 
with  the  right  hand  of  my  righteousness."  If  nature  recoils  at 
the  thought  of  the  dissolution  of  soul  and  body,  the  believer 
hears  the  tender  voice  of  his  Shepherd  saying,  "Fear  not;  for  I 
have  redeemed  thee,  I  have  called  thee  by  thy  name;  thou  art 
mine.  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with 
thee;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee;  for  I 
am  the  Lord  thy  God,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  thy  Saviour." 

Yea,  the  Christian  must  descend  into  the  valley.  But  he  fears 
not ;  for  he  knoweth  Christ  is  with  him  and  keeps  him  in  safety. 
"Thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  they  comfort  me,"  he  says.  The  Shep- 
herd leads  his  sheep  through  the  dark  valley;  but  he  does  so 


38 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


only  in  order  that  he  may  bring  the  sheep  to  his  heavenly  fold, 
to  feed  in  green  pastures,  and  to  rest  beside  the  still  waters.  For 
the  relation  between  the  Shepherd  and  his  sheep  is  a  deep,  tender 
and  abiding  relation.  Christ  says,  ' '  My  sheep  hear  my  voice ;  and 
I  know  them  and  they  follow  me:  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal 
life;  and  they  shall  never  perish;  neither  shall  any  man  pluck 
them  out  of  my  hands." 

Let  the  blessed  truths  of  our  text  comfort  you,  my  sorrowing 
friends,  in  this  hour  of  your  bereavement.  You  know  that  he 
whom  you  mourn  was  a  believer,  and  a  sheep  of  Christ's  flock. 
You  were  witnesses  of  his  faith  and  Christian  patience.  He  has 
gone  into  the  valley;  but  it  is  only  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  And  he  has  gone  not  alone,  but  accompanied  and  guarded 
by  his  Shepherd.  The  darkness  of  the  valley  was  illumined  for 
him  by  faith.  Its  terrors  were  removed  by  the  comforting  pres- 
ence of  the  Shepherd  with  his  rod  and  staff.  And  you  have  the 
blessed  consolation  that  after  his  days  of  intense  suffering  he  is 
now  at  rest — a  rest  not  merely  of  the  body,  but  the  rest  of  the 
people  of  God,  the  rest  of  those  who  have  fallen  asleep  in  Christ. 

God's  ways  are  not  our  ways,  neither  are  his  thoughts  our 
thoughts.  We  cannot  understand  the  mystery  of  his  dealings,  nor 
explain  why  this  heavy  blow  should  have  fallen  upon  you.  But 
this  we  know,  that  God  is  love ;  and  that  in  all  his  dealings  with 
his  children  he  is  guided  by  love.  All  things,  even  bereavement 
and  grief,  shall  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God. 
And  we  know  that  even  as  the  Shepherd's  rod  and  staff  comfort 
the  believer  as  he  descends  into  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
so  they  also  comfort  those  of  his  flock  who  remain  behind  under 
the  shadow  of  affliction  and  bereavement.  He  will  not  leave  you 
comfortless,  but  will  strengthen  and  uphold  you.  Do  you  but 
cling  firmly  to  him  as  your  Savior  and  trust  in  him  as  your 
loving  Shepherd.  Then  you  will  be  able  to  say  even  amid  your 
tears,  "He  doeth  all  things  well."    And  though  now  your  eyes 


THE    CHRISTIAN'S    COMFORT    IN    DEATH  39 

are  holden  and  you  cannot  penetrate  the  mystery  of  his  dealings 
with  you,  some  day  you  shall  know  and  understand  that  all  has 
been  done  in  love  and  wisdom.  For  ''now  we  see  through  a  glass 
darkly,  but  then  face  to  face ;  now  we  know  in  part,  but  then  we 
shall  know  even  as  we  also  are  known."  Amen. 


THE    NATION'S    DUTY    AT    ITS    CHIEFTAIN'S    BIER 

By  Rev.  W.  N.  Harley 

'*.  .  .  Render  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the 
things  that  are  God's     .     .     ."—Mark  12:  17. 

Preached  on  the  Occasion  of  William  McKinley's  Death 

It  seemed  to  me  that  no  word  of  God  that  presented  itself  to 
memory  for  this  sad  occasion  was  quite  so  appropriate  as  these 
words  of  our  Master:  ''Render  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's,  and  to  God  the  things  that  are  God's,"  for  these  words 
ask  that  we  be  loyal  to  that  which  is  symbolized  by  the  flag  and 
to  that  which  is  symbolized  by  the  cross.  And  now  that  the  flag 
is  draped  in  mourning  for  our  departed  President,  it  is  altogether 
in  keeping  with  our  Saviour's  command,  as  well  as  with  our 
feelings  of  patriotism,  that  we  render  that  tribute  to  his  memory 
which  his  official  position,  his  character  and  his  services  demand, 
for  the  Lord  would  have  us  honor  in  death  the  servant  whom 
he  asks  us  to  obey  in  life.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  citizen  in  this  hour  of  national  grief  to  bow  the  knee  to 
God  and  raise  the  heart  in  prayer  to  him  by  whom  the  powers 
that  be  are  ordained  and  from  whom  cometh  every  good  and  per- 
fect gift,  for  he  who  tells  us  to  render  to  Caesar  the  things  that 
are  Caesar's,  also  tells  us  to  render  to  God  the  things  that  are 
God's.   Let  us,  therefore,  consider 

The  Nation's  Duty  at  Its  Chieftain's  Bier 

According  to  these  words  of  our  Master  it  is :  I.  To  honor  the 
ruler's  memory;  and  II.  To  render  God  the  homage  due  his 
name. 

40 


NATION'S   DUTY    AT    CHIEFTAIN'S   BIER  4I 


Today  as  we  are  called  upon  to  weave  a  chaplet  of  evergreen 
for  the  casket  of  our  Chief  Magistrate  and  look  over  his  course 
of  life,  we  find  much  that  deserves  kindly  mention  and  much 
that  serves  as  an  example  to  the  humblest  toiler  and  the  greatest 
statesman.  When  a  man  like  this  stands  in  Caesar's  place  we  can 
afford  to  honor  him.  He  was  (1)  our  President,  (2)  a  Christian 
ruler,  (3)  a  man  strong  in  his  domestic  affections,  and  (4)  his 
course  in  life  is  a  civic  inspiration  to  the  youth  of  the  land. 

1.  Had  he  been  no  more  than  the  President  of  our  Republic, 
faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  God  gave  him  to  see  it, 
we  would  this  day  honor  his  memory,  for  "the  powers  that  be 
are  ordained  of  God"  (Rom.  13:  1).  Civil  government  is  a 
human  necessity  and  a  divine  appointment.  Its  office  is  to  protect 
its  citizens,  to  preserve  peace  and  order,  to  execute  justice,  and, 
in  short,  to  promote  the  common  weal.  That  is  the  reason  God 
has  inaugurated  Caesar  and  placed  the  sword  in  his  hand  (Rom. 
13:  4),  and  that  is  why  he  says,  "Honor  the  king"  (I  Peter  2: 
17).  Our  departed  President  held  this  office,  and  held  it  with 
honor.  Genuine  was  the  love  he  bore  for  the  old  flag,  that 
heaven-born  emblem,  with  its  red  from  heaven's  morning  glow, 
w^hite  from  its  fleecy  chariots,  and  blue  from  its  azure  dome, 
pleading  for  love,  purity  and  loyalty.  In  his  conduct  and  bearing 
as  a  statesman  there  was  much  of  the  dignity  of  the  old  school, 
and  in  his  campaigns  he  was  not  wont  to  stoop  to  the  all-too- 
common  level  of  defamation.  As  his  mortal  remains  are  being 
borne  to  the  tomb,  let  these  things  be  remembered  to  his  honor 
as  a  statesman. 

2.  But  he  was  something  more  than  President — he  was  a 
Christian  ruler.  In  times  like  these,  and  in  a  place  like  this,  this 
feature  dare  not  go  unnoticed.  He  confessed  the  Savior  before 
men,  and  in  his  exalted  position  was  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel 


42 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


of  Christ.  "With  commendable  regularity  he  occupied  his  pew 
in  the  church  where  he  worshiped.  In  this  the  manhood  of  the 
nation  may  well  find  an  example.  And  so  far  as  eye  could  see  he 
was  true  to  his  profession.  When  the  assassin's  bullet  struck  him 
he  said,  "May  God  forgive  him,"  thus  forgiving  his  enemy  as 
the  Christ  upon  the  cross  taught  us  to  do.  When  he  felt  that  he 
was  gliding  into  the  great  beyond,  making  the  transition  from 
life  to  life  more  abundant,  he  softly  murmured,  ''Nearer,  my 
God,  to  thee,  nearer  to  thee,"  and  said:  ''Good-by,  good-by,  all. 
It's  God's  way.  His  will  be  done,  not  ours."  An  example  like 
this  is  worth  something.  Today,  when  the  nation  in  its  sorrow, 
and  love,  and  gratitude  twines  a  wreath  to  place  upon  his  tomb, 
the  sweetest  blossom  in  it,  and  the  only  amaranthine  flower,  will 
be  his  confession  of  Christ. 

3.  His  domestic  affections  were  particularly  strong,  and  his 
life  was  beautiful  in  its  devotion  to  mother  and  wife.  His  love 
for  children — a  commendable  heart-quality  in  any  man — was 
also  conspicuous.  During  his  short  respite  from  official  cares  he 
would  always,  on  reaching  his  home,  go  to  the  spot  where  his 
little  children,  and,  later,  his  mother,  lay  buried.  The  loving 
care  which  he  bestowed  for  decades  upon  an  invalid  wife  is  well 
known,  and,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  not  even  in  the  heat  of  political 
campaigns  was  his  fidelity  to  plighted  troth  ever  questioned. 
But  particularly  memorable  is  a  scene  in  bleak  December.  Word 
was  sent  to  the  executive  mansion  that  mother  was  dying.  Back 
came  the  message,  "Tell  mother  I'll  be  there."  And  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Republic  sat  by  the  bedside  through  the  long  vigil 
of  the  night  holding  the  hand  of  the  little,  plain,  old  mother  in 
his  until  the  early  gloaming,  when  her  spirit  took  its  flight — an 
example  of  filial  love  for  every  man  and  boy  in  the  land.  God 
bless  the  boy  who  loves  his  mother,  and  God  bless  the  boy  of 
whom  his  mother  may  be  proud.   Thus  we  must  pay  another  trib- 


NATION'S   DUTY    AT    CHIEFTAIN'S   BIER  43 

ute  to  our  lamented  President,  and  say:  He  was  a  man  whose 
memory  the  motherhood  of  the  nation  can  love  and  cherish. 

4.  There  is  yet  another  thing.  Such  lives  as  his  are  a  civic 
inspiration  to  the  young  men  of  the  nation.  He  was  born  in  a 
plain  frame  house  in  a  small  town  in  Ohio.  His  body  lay  in  state 
at  the  national  Capitol.  From  an  humble  but  honest  home  he 
was  promoted  step  by  step  by  his  fellow-citizens  until  he  was 
twice  made  the  recipient  of  the  highest  honor  at  the  disposal  of 
this  nation — an  honor  which  we  hold  to  be  the  highest  civic 
distinction  on  earth.  It  shows  that  character  counts  that  dili- 
gence is  rewarded,  and,  by  strong  contrast,  shows  youth  the  folly 
and  sin  of  dissipating  time  and  talent.  True  is  Solomon's  proverb, 
and  ever  true  it  will  be:  "The  hand  of  the  diligent  shall  bear 
rule:  but  the  slothful  shall  be  under  tribute"  (Prov.  12:  24). 
And,  furthermore,  it  illustrates  once  more  the  possibilities  of  a 
life  in  this  land  of  the  free,  no  matter  how  lowly  the  cradle  or 
what  the  texture  of  the  counterpane  that  covers  the  infant  may 
be,  and  thus  increases  our  love  for  our  country  and  its  free  insti- 
tutions. Honor  to  the  man  who  passed  from  an  humble  home  in 
our  state  to  the  office  of  chief  executive  of  the  nation,  and,  by  the 
grace  of  the  Lord  of  lords  and  King  of  kings,  filled  it  with  honor 
to  himself  and  credit  to  the  nation. 

We  have  thus  in  our  poor  way  tried  to  weave  a  chaplet  for 
our  departed  ruler's  bier.  We  now  turn  our  eyes  to  the  Rock 
and  Fortress  whence  cometh  our  help.  The  Savior  not  only  said, 
''Render  to  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Csesar's,"  but  he  added, 
"and  to  God  the  things  that  are  God's."  Hence,  in  keeping  with 
his  command,  and  I  trust  in  consonance  with  the  heartfelt  desire 
of  everyone  here,  let  us  in  this  hour  of  national  grief 

n. 

Render  God  the  homage  due  his  name.  "The  Lord  looketh 
from  heaven;  he  beholdeth  all  the  sons  of  men"   (Ps.  33:  13). 


44  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

He  says:  ''I  am  the  Lord;  that  is  my  name:  and  my  glory  will  I 
not  give  to  another"  (Isa.  42:  8).  Therefore  in  this  time  of  grief 
and  need  we  should  reverently  look  up  to  heaven  and  (1)  thank 
God  for  a  Christian  President  and  a  stable  government,  (2)  take 
to  heart  the  lessons  which  this  instance  of  mortality  teaches,  and 
(3)  fervently  supplicate  God's  mercy. 

1.  Brethren,  since  the  ruler  whose  death  we  lament  was  one 
whom  we  can  honor  as  a  man  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  his  office, 
it  is  but  meet  and  proper  that  we  thank  our  God  for  having 
given  us  a  Christian  President.  Sovereigns  are  by  his  grace.  St. 
Paul  calls  them  ministers  of  God  (Rom.  13 :  14)  ;  and  when  God 
gives  a  people  a  wise  and  benevolent  ruler  it  is  a  mark  of  favor 
and  a  blessing  which  should  be  acknowledged  with  devout  grati- 
tude. With  similar  convictions  and  feelings  we  should  thank 
God  for  the  character  and  stability  of  our  form  of  government. 
In  some  sister  republics  a  change  of  government,  such  as  has 
taken  place  here  in  recent  days,  would  be  the  signal  for  commo- 
tion, confusion,  or  factional  revolt.  Not  so  here.  The  assassin's 
bullet  caused  the  sword  to  drop  from  a  beloved  ruler's  hand. 
His  lawful  successor  picked  it  up.  Though  the  occupant  was 
slain,  the  office  survives,  no  civic  troubles  ensued,  and  the  gov- 
ernment at  Washington  still  lives.  It  lives  because  God  reigns 
and  wills  that  it  should  live.  Let  us  acknowledge  this  with 
grateful  hearts.  God  has  been  good  to  this  people — very  good; 
every  chapter  of  our  history  shows  it;  and  in  this  hour,  though 
stricken  with  grief,  let  us  look  up  to  him  and  say:  "Bless  the 
Lord,  0  my  soul:  and  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  his  holy  name. 
Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  his  benefits"  (Ps. 
103:  1-2). 

2.  Nor  should  we  this  day  overlook  the  great  and  solemn 
lessons  which  this  sad  event  teaches. 

Death  hath  "passed  upon  all  men"  (Rom.  5:  12).  Even  the 
greatest  men  are  but  mortal,  and  at  the  touch  of  death  wither 


NATION'S   DUTY    AT    CHIEFTAIN'S   BIER  45 

like  the  flower  at  the  touch  of  frost.  *'It  is  appointed  unto  men 
once  to  die"  (Heb.  9:  27)  ;  but  no  man  knows  the  hour  that  will 
strike  his  knell.  Such  events  as  this  which  shocked  the  nation's 
heart  only  emphasize  the  uncertain  tenure  of  life  and  give  tongue 
of  mute  eloquence  to  the  words  of  the  prophet  who  says:  ''Pre- 
pare to  meet  thy  God"  (Amos  4:  12).  The  only  way  is  through 
Christ,  for  there  *'is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men  whereby  we  must  be  saved"  (Acts  4:  12).  And  if  the  ruler 
whose  death  we  lament  entered  heaven  'midst  the  joy  of  angels, 
it  was  not  because  the  President  of  earth's  greatest  republic 
passed  through  its  portals,  but  because  a  poor  sinner  came 
washed  in  the  blood  of  "the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the 
sin  of  the  world"  (John  1:  29). 

But  there  are  other  lesssons  here — lessons  of  state.  Of  old 
the  prophet  called  out:  ''Hear  all  ye  people;  hearken,  0  earth, 
and  all  that  therein  is:  and  let  the  Lord  God  be  witness  against 
you,  the  Lord  from  his  holy  temple"  (Mich.  1:2).  And  it  seems 
to  me  that  this  voice  comes  down  through  the  ages  and  rings  into 
our  ears  today:  "Hear,  all  ye  people!"  God  says:  "Honor  the 
king"  (I  Peter  2:  17).  But  among  us  irreverence  is  a  besetting 
sin.  Parental  authority  is  taken  lightly,  the  hoary  head  is  hardly 
honored,  and  on  all  hands  law  is  not  given  the  high  respect  to 
which  it  is  entitled,  and  the  highest  office  of  the  Republic  is 
treated  with  flippant  irreverence  by  hordes  of  caricaturists  and 
paragraphers  at  whose  cartoons  and  jokes  the  nation  smiles. 
Know  they,  know  we,  that  they  point  their  sharpened  pencils  at 
the  heart  of  the  nation?  These  things  must  be  discountenanced 
— crush  the  egg  or  bear  the  viper's  sting.  We  must  teach  rever- 
ence for  authority. 

Another  lesson  which  this  event  teaches — this  blot  which  we 
would  fain  wash  from  our  history  with  our  tears — is  that  we 
must  educate  the  heart  as  well  as  the  head.  God  says:  '* Train 
up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go"  (Prov.  22:  6) ;  he  also  says: 


45  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

''Whosoever  therefore  resisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordinance 
of  God"  (Rom.  13:  2).  The  man  who  committed  this  dastardly 
and  wicked  deed  said:  "I  did  my  duty!"  Lesser  crimes  are 
justified  on  like  grounds  of  duty  and  right.  Men  must  be  edu- 
cated to  the  highest  ideals,  and  holy  motives  must  be  instilled 
into  their  hearts.  Only  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  can  accom- 
plish this.  Cffisar  should  never  make  it  difficult  for  holy  Mother 
Church  to  bring  up  the  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord.  Nothing  but  the  religion  of  Christ  can  overcome 
the  rank  materialism  and  unbelief  which  are  foes  to  the  noblest, 
the  highest,  and  the  best  type  of  patriotism — Christian  love  of 
country. 

3.  Today  as  we  bow  our  knees  to  God  in  this  hour  of  grief, 
let  us  also  remember  our  sins  as  a  people  and  supplicate  his  mercy. 
Our  gratitude  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  greatness  and  abun- 
dance of  his  blessing,  and  manifold  are  the  national  sins  of 
which  we  are  guilty  and  for  which  he  could  justly  thrust  us 
from  the  covert  of  his  protection.  "Sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  peo- 
ple" (Prov.  14:  34).  Let  us,  therefore,  implore  him  to  forgive 
us,  to  strengthen  us  in  our  resolve  to  press  forward  to  a  higher 
plane  of  Christian  citizenship,  to  keep  his  protecting  hand  over 
our  land,  and  to  help  us  all  to  render  to  Caesar  the  things  that 
are  Caesar's  and  to  him.  King  of  kings,  the  things  that  are  his. 
Then  will  the  seed  sown  this  day  in  sorrow  bring  forth  sweet 
blossoms  and  wholesome  fruit.  "Now  unto  the  King  eternal, 
immortal,  invisible,  the  only  wise  God,  be  honor  and  glory, 
forever  and  ever.   Amen"  (I  Tim.  1:  17). 


THE  BLESSEDNESS  OF  THOSE  WHO  DIE  IN  THE  LORD 
By  Rev.  W.  N.  Harley 

"And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are 
the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth:  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
they  may  rest  from  their  labors;  and  their  works  do  follow  them." — Rev. 
14:  13. 

Occasion:  Preached  at  the  funeral  of  a  woman  who  died  at  the 

wash-tub  in  another  person's  house  where  there  had 

been  a  death 

We  are  come  into  this  place  where  God's  honor  dwelleth  to 
give  and  to  receive  consolation.  There  is,  thank  God,  a  balm  for 
heart  wounds  such  as  these.  A  sprig  of  green  always  grows  out 
of  a  cranny  in  a  Christian's  tomb.  And  yet,  for  all  that,  death 
always  brings  grief.  So  far  as  this  dispensation  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence is  concerned,  there  seem  to  be  elements  in  it  which  are  par- 
ticularly hard  to  bear.  There  was  the  shock  of  sudden  death  and 
the  dying  alone.  And  yet,  each  one  dies  alone — crosses  the  river 
by  himself.  As  for  the  rest,  were  it  a  matter  of  choice,  I  do  not 
know  but  that  I  would  elect  a  home-going  such  as  this — just  slip 
away  quietly,  without  the  long  days  and  weeks  which  require 
the  long  vigils  on  the  part  of  others.  And,  then,  to  be  called 
from  the  midst  of  every-day  work  would  also  please  me,  for  one 
cannot  be  better  employed  than  in  doing  his  duty.  There  is 
wholesome  truth  in  what  Mr.  Davenport  said  in  the  Continental 
Congress  on  that  eventful  dark  day  in  1780  when  people  thought 
the  end  of  time  had  come.  ''Mr.  Speaker,"  said  he,  ''it  is  either 
the  day  of  judgment,  or  it  is  not.  If  it  is  not,  there  is  no  need  of 
adjourning.  If  it  is,  I  desire  to  be  found  doing  my  duty.  I  move 

47 


48  FUNEEAL   SERMONS 

that  candles  be  brought,  and  that  we  proceed  to  business."  That 
was  sane  and  noble.  Let  us  never  forget  that  we  are  serving 
God  when  we  are  doing  our  work  in  the  right  way  and  spirit. 
Nor  do  I  know  a  more  beautiful  dying  day  than  this  one  was. 
There  cling  to  it  the  holiest  and  most  beautiful  associations. 
How  fitting  for  the  Christian  soul  to  take  its  flight  from  earth 
to  heaven  on  the  day  that  marks  the  ascension  of  our  Savior  to 
the  same  realm  of  bliss,  and  to  go  when  the  buds  and  blossoms 
are  bursting  open,  and  the  Ascension  Day  bells  are  ringing  and 
saying,  over  and  over,  ''Heavenward!  Heavenward!"  And  yet, 
when,  or  where,  or  how  one  dies  is  scarcely  worth  a  thought,  if 
one  but  die  a  Christian.  That  is  the  case  here.  The  fairest  dia- 
dem that  crowns  this  mother's  brow  is  her  Christian  profession 
and  fidelity,  and  in  that  lies  our  chief  comfort.  It  is  the  only 
solvent  for  the  grief  of  death.  The  reason  for  it  lies  largely  in 
the  nature  of  love.  On  account  of  its  character,  love  is  always 
ready  to  sacrifice  its  own  interests,  pleasures,  and  comforts  to 
the  welfare  of  the  one  loved.  Hence  the  conviction  that  a  loved 
one  has  gone  to  heaven  causes  us  to  moderate  our  grief  and  find 
consolation  on  account  of  that  loved  one's  bliss.  Love  would 
cease  to  be  what  it  is  were  it  to  place  its  interests  and  desires 
above  the  highest  good  of  the  object  of  its  affection.  Altruism 
would  turn  into  base  selfishness  were  such  the  case.  Consequently 
the  bliss  of  a  departed  Christian  is  a  consolation  to  remaining 
Christians.  Therefore,  that  your  grief  may  find  surcease,  and 
your  hearts  have  comfort,  let  us  turn  our  attention  to : — 

The  Blessedness  of  Those  Who  Die  in  the  Lord 

The  apostle  points  out  two  things  in  which  it  lies: 

I.  They  rest  from  their  labors;  and 
n.  Their  works  do  follow  them. 


THOSE    WHO    DIE    IN    THE    LOED  49 

I. 

The  dead  in  the  Lord  are  blessed  because  they  rest  from  their 
labors : 

1.  At  best,  this  life  has  sorrows  and  troubles  enough.  This 
would  not  be  so  hard  were  it  not  for  something  else.  We  ought 
to  be  enough  of  a  man,  or  enough  of  a  woman,  to  be  ready  to 
take  the  thorn  with  the  rose.  If  this  world  has  sorrows,  it  also 
has  compensating  joys.  As  for  the  world's  work,  the  thing  to  do 
is  to  perform  your  proper  share  of  it.  It  is  not  manly  to  try  to 
get  away  from  it.  But  there  is  something  else  here.  In  all  human 
work  there  is  irksomeness,  provocation,  imperfection.  In  all 
human  hearts  there  is  restlessness;  a  longing  for  something 
higher,  something  nobler,  something  better.  In  all  human  en- 
deavor there  is  the  falling  short  of  the  ideal.  In  every  Christian 
life  there  is  imperfection  and  sin — the  stepping  forward,  the 
stumbling,  the  tripping.  Now  all  these  things  cause  labor,  and 
labor  severe  in  the  degree  to  which  one  is  intelligently  sincere. 
This  is  the  labor  of  which  St.  John  speaks  in  the  text,  for  the 
word  in  the  original  means  a  beating,  wearing  away  labor.  Prom 
all  that  sort  of  thing  the  dead  in  the  Lord  are  released.  They 
enter  a  state  of  perfection;  therefore  they  are  blessed. 

2.  But  note  further,  the  apostle  says  they  rest  from  their 
labors.  That  is  part  of  their  blessedness.  Now  rest  does  not 
mean  doing  nothing  at  all.  Doing  nothing  is  stagnation  or  death. 
Rest  is  change — change  of  scene,  change  of  position,  change  of 
activity,  change  of  employment.  People  have  wrong  notions  of 
rest,  just  as  they  have  wrong  ideas  about  heaven. 

"Rest  is  not  quitting  this  busy  career; 

E-est  is  the  fitting  of  self  for  one's  sphere." 

So  the  rest  in  heaven  is  not  idleness,  because  heaven  is  not  a 
place  of  stagnation  and  death.  I  take  it  that  the  rest  meant  here 


50.  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

is  Sabbath  rest.  The  Scriptures  elsewhere  speak  of  the  rest  in 
heaven  as  a  Sabbath.  In  fact,  Sabbath  means  rest.  So  the  dead 
in  the  Lord  are  blessed  in  their  rest,  not  only  negatively,  on  ac- 
count of  certain  evils  which  cannot  molest  them  in  heaven,  but 
positively,  on  account  of  the  good  things  they  enjoy  -and  do. 
There  is  the  Sabbath  of  eternal  worship.  How  different  the 
strains  above  from  those  in  our  tabernacles  down  here !  What 
bliss  to  see  the  Savior  face  to  face — the  Savior  with  whom  we 
commune  here  at  the  altar  under  the  veil  of  the  sacramental 
mystery!  There  also  is  the  Sabbath  of  sacred  acquaintance.  It 
lies  not  merely  in  meeting  those  of  our  own  little  circle  who  have 
gone  before,  but  in  meeting  the  great  family  of  Mother  Church's 
illustrious  sons  and  daughters — patriarchs,  apostles,  evangelists, 
disciples,  martyrs,  and  all  the  host  of  holy  angels.  Oh,  how  much 
there  is  to  see  in  heaven,  and  how  much  to  learn  of  history  and 
wisdom,  and  learning  these  things,  what  ground  for  an  eternity 
of  praise !  And  that  will  be  rest,  for  the  longing  of  the  soul  will 
cease  because  it  has  returned  to  the  bosom  of  him  from  whom 
it  came.  Just  as  the  migrating  bird  which  longs  for  the  South- 
land has  rest  when  it  reaches  its  goal,  not  because  it  henceforth 
does  nothing,  but  because  it  is  in  the  sunny  Southland,  so  the 
spirit  of  man  has  rest  when  it  reaches  heaven. 

3.  Now,  since  this  is  Sabbath  rest,  the  Lord  provides  for  each 
one  Sabbath  attire.  We  are  to  fit  the  place  into  which  we  are 
introduced.  That  place  is  the  abode  of  God  and  the  holy  angels. 
Hence,  we  are  to  suit  our  environment.  That  we  may  enter, 
Christ's  glorious  robe  of  righteousness  covers  all  our  imperfec- 
tions. A  change  also  will  take  place  in  us.  The  change  that  those 
undergo  who  enter  heaven  is  more  glorious  than  the  change  of 
the  worm  into  the  butterfly.  The  soul  that  enters  there  will  be 
relieved  of  flaws  and  be  made  perfect.  You  see,  this  takes  place 
in  the  person.  Down  here  we  adorn  outwardly  to  suit  environ- 
ment.  But  with  God  it  is  not  what  a  man  has,  but  what  he  is. 


THOSE    WHO    DIE    INTHE    LORD  51 

Therefore  he  not  only  surrounds  his  saints  in  heaven  with  glory, 
but  he  makes  them  glorious  in  themselves.  That  is  why  St.  Paul 
says:  "I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory" — mark  you — ''with  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us." 

This,  then,  dearly  beloved,  is  why  the  dead  in  the  Lord  who 
rest  from  their  labors  are  blessed.  Does  not  the  truth  of  it  all 
come  upon  your  bruised  hearts  as  a  benediction  from  heaven? 
Surely,  it  must  be  so. 

"Beloved,  'It  is  well!'  though  deep  and  sore  the  smart; 

The  hand  that  wounds  knows  how  to  bind  and  heal  the  broken  heart." 

But  the  apostle  gives  us  another  reason  for  the  blessedness  of 
the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord. 

n. 

"Their  works  do  follow  them."  It  is  worth  our  while,  yea,  it 
is  our  duty,  to  ponder  this  statement  also.  Let  us  endeavor  to  see 
what  it  means,  and  what  it  teaches. 

1.  Works  are  activities.  They  may  be  done  in  words,  or  in 
deeds.  In  fact,  thought  enters  into  consideration  here,  because  it 
is  father  to  word  and  deed.  And  more  than  that,  in  its  subtility, 
thought,  without  being  expressed,  performs  one  of  the  mightiest 
works — namely,  helps  to  mold  one's  character.  So  the  word 
"work"  as  used  here  means  anything  a  man  does.  To  follow 
means  to  come  after.  The  baby  holds  to  the  mother's  dress  and 
follows  her.  A  son  may  follow  in  his  father's  footsteps.  So  the 
words,  "their  works  do  follow  them,"  are  plain  enough.  But 
still  the  question  is:  Whither  do  they  follow  them?  My  answer 
is.  Whithersoever  they  have  gone.  Have  they  gone  from  the 
cradle  to  the  grave?  Then  their  works  follow  the  same  course. 
Have  they  gone  to  heaven?  Then  their  works  also  follow  them 
there.   The  truth  of  this  is  readily  seen.   What  we  do  upon  earth 


52  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

has  its  influence  on  others.  But  influence,  once  set  in  motion, 
cannot  be  estimated.  It  may  go  on  till  the  judgment  day,  and  it 
will  go  on  long  after  we  are  dead,  affecting  people  along  the 
pathway  we  have  trodden  in  life.  That  shows  how  much  may 
be  done  by  one  deed  of  kindness;  and  it  also  shows  how  the 
works  of  a  Christian  follow  in  his  wake  after  he  is  dead.  Surely 
it  is  a  blessed  thing  still  to  be  doing  good  on  earth  after  you 
have  gone  to  heaven.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  St.  John  speaks  of 
blessedness  in  this  connection?  But  the  other  side  of  this  is  just 
as  plain.  As  people  live,  so  they  die.  Some  Christians  are  devel- 
oped more  than  others,  and  consequently  enter  heaven  with  a 
greater  capacity.  This  does  not  argue  imperfection  in  heaven:  it 
does,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  argue  size.  You  may  have 
two  perfect  circles,  one  large  and  one  sm-all.  They  differ  in  size, 
but  both  are  circles,  and  both  are  perfect.  Or  you  may  have  two 
measures,  one  large  and  one  small.  They  differ  in  size,  but  you 
may  fill  each  one  perfectly  full.  So  it  is  here.  It  is  in  this  way 
that  the  works  of  those  who  die  in  the  Lord  follow  them  into 
heaven.  And  St.  John  calls  this  a  feature  of  their  blessedness ! 
Can  you  not  also  see  the  blessedness  of  it?  They  have  grown  in 
holiness,  and  now  they  attain  it  to  their  utmost  capacity.  They 
have  grown  in  knowledge,  and  now  they  obtain  it  to  their  utmost 
capacity.  They  have  cherished  hope,  and  now — now  it  is  blessed 
realization.  Ah,  yes,  blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord, 
for  their  works  do  follow  them. 

2.  But  this  truth  is  a  stern  teacher.  Every  truth  is.  Truth 
cannot  bend,  it  cannot  yield,  it  cannot  compromise.  It  has  to  do 
with  realities,  with  things  as  they  are.  We  can  refuse  to  learn 
this  schoolmaster's  lessons,  but  we  cannot  escape  the  conse- 
quences. 

Since,  therefore,  one's  Christian  development  here  determines 
one's  capacity  hereafter,  how  important  that  we  be  true  Chris- 
tians and  that  we  grow  in  grace!    It  is  utterly  senseless  to  talk 


THOSE    WHO    DIE    IN    THE    LORD  53 

about  entering  heaven  without  being  a  Christian.  The  only  way 
to  heaven  is  through  Christ.  Nor  is  that  all:  the  person  who  is 
not  a  Christian  would  feel  out  of  place  there.  It  would  be  like  a 
foreign  land  and  not  like  home  to  him.  He  could  not  be  happy 
for  that  very  reason.  But  being  a  Christian,  it  is  important  to 
grow  in  grace  here :  to  learn  heaven's  way  of  thinking  and  speak- 
ing, commune  often  with  the  Savior,  and  put  some  of  the  heav- 
enly life  into  practice  here  on  earth.  To  this  end  frequent  and 
regular  worship,  Bible  reading,  and  frequent  communion  will 
develop  you  for  service  here,  and  that  service  will  develop  you 
for  the  life  hereafter. 

And,  furthermore,  since  our  works  do  follow  us  on  earth  also, 
while  we  are  here  and  after  we  are  gone,  how  important  that  we 
have  a  care  what  we  do  and  what  we  leave  undone.  Now  that 
this  loved  one  has  gone  home,  what  are  the  things  we  remem- 
ber, the  things  that  seem  worth  while  in  life?  Are  they  not  the 
deeds  and  words  of  love — the  hundred  and  one  little  kindnesses 
that  grow  out  of  the  Christian  life?  And,  brother  mine,  how 
much  better  is  it  not  to  live  the  simple  life  of  faith,  and  hope, 
and  charity,  than  it  is  to  chase  after  fame,  or  fortune,  or  selfish 
pleasure !  We  see  these  things  in  their  true  light  from  the  side 
of  a  coffin.  Seeing  them,  we  should  act  as  wisdom  dictates.  If 
preparation  is  to  be  made,  make  it  now.  If  a  kind  word  is  to  be 
spoken,  say  it  now.  If  some  poor  fellow  is  to  be  assisted,  help 
him  now.  Tomorrow  may  be  too  late.  Act  in  the  living  present. 
Such  as  these  are  the  lessons  which  this  truth  teaches. 

And  now,  dearly  beloved,  take  these  things  to  heart.  To  you 
who  mourn  they  are  a  comfort,  and  to  us  all  an  admonition. 
Let  the  sudden  death  of  the  mother  who  was  with  us  here  last 
Lord's  day  to  worship,  and  whose  body  now  lies  here  because 
she  loved  this  sanctuary,  together  with  great  truths  of  our  text 
touch  our  hearts.  If  I  interpret  her  life  aright,  she  says  to  us 
now: 


54  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

*'Say  not,  'Good  night,'  but  in  that  brighter  clime 
Bid  me  'Good  morning.'  " 

And  when  that  day  is  here,  and  we  are  come  to  the  place 
where  the  purple  and  fine  linen  of  the  rich  man  are  no  more  than 
the  rags  of  Lazarus,  may  angels  have  carried  our  souls  to  that 
better  clime  and  these  words  be  spoken  for  us:  ''Blessed  are 
the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth:  Yea,  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors;  and  their  works 
do  follow  them."   Amen. 


THE    DEATH    OP    A    CHRISTIAN    MOTHER 
By  Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 

"Giving  thanks  always  for  all  things  unto  God  and  the  Father  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." — Eph.  5:  20. 

Occasion:  Death  of  a  Christian  Mother 

Dearly  Beloved  in  the  Lord  Jesus: 

The  last  weeks  were  a  time  of  great  anxiety  in  your  home. 
The  life  of  your  beloved  mother  hung  in  the  balance.  For  days 
and  weeks  you  waited  between  hope  and  fear.  For  a  time  it 
seemed  that  her  end  was  near  at  hand.  Then  again  she  revived 
and  you  hoped  that  she  might  still  remain  with  you  a  little  while 
longer,  although  she  was  now  in  her  eighty-second  year  and  had 
over-reached  the  limit  of  human  life  as  set  by  the  psalmist  when 
he  says:  ''The  days  of  our  years  are  threescore  years  and  ten: 
and  if  by  reason  of  strength  they  be  fourscore  years,  yet  is  their 
strength  labor  and  sorrow ;  for  it  is  soon  cut  off  and  we  fly  away ' ' 
(Ps.  90:  10).  But  suddenly  the  end  came.  She  calmly  fell  asleep 
in  the  Lord  and  we  may  apply  to  her  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"Asleep  in  Jesus!  blessed  sleep, 

From  which  none  ever  wakes  to  weep; 
A  calm  and  undisturbed  repose, 
Unbroken  by  the  last  of  foes." 

And  now  we  have  met  in  the  house  of  God  according  to  Chris- 
tian custom  for  a  funeral  service  over  her  mortal  remains. 

I  have  chosen  as  text  a  passage  which  admonishes  us  to  give 
thanks.  This  may  appear  to  be  a  strange  selection.  The  giving 
of  thanks  is  usually  done  on  occasions  of  joy,  and  not  of  sorrow. 

55 


56  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

But  note  what  the  apostle  says  in  our  text  when  he  admonishes 
us  to  give  thanks.  He  says,  "Always"  and  "for  all  things." 
That  means  not  only  in  good  days  but  also  in  evil,  not  only  for 
what  are  commonly  called  the  blessings  but  also  for  the  afflic- 
tions of  life.  In  the  light  of  this  passage  even  a  funeral  service 
should  be  an  occasion  for  thanksgiving.  Let  me  speak  to  you 
today  on: — 

The  Death  of  a  Christian  Mother  as  an  Occasion  for  Thanksgiving 

I  will  endeavor  to  show  you 

I.  What  there  is  to  be  thankful  for  and 
II.  How  you  should  show  your  gratitude. 


In  asking  the  question.  What  is  there  for  which  you  should 
give  thanks  today?  I  answer:  You  should  be  thankful  for  what 
God  did  for  your  mother.  He  began  early  in  life  to  bless  her. 
Her  very  life  was  his  gift.  She  was  born  in  a  Christian  home,  in 
the  midst  of  a  Christian  community.  She  was  in  early  infancy 
baptized  into  the  death  of  the  Savior  and  thus  made  partaker 
of  all  its  benefits.  She  was  brought  up  under  Christian  parents. 
She  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  thorough  course  of  instruction 
in  the  Word  of  God.  Up  to  the  time  when  the  infirmities  of  old 
age  made  it  impossible  she  was  able  all  her  life  time  to  listen  to 
the  preaching  of  God's  pure  Gospel  as  confessed  by  our  Lutheran 
church.  She  had  the  privilege  of  meeting  with  God's  people 
around  the  sacramental  altar  and  partaking  of  the  Savior's  body 
and  blood  as  most  precious  pledges  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  of 
the  Savior's  continued  presence  with  his  people  on  earth  and  of 
everlasting  life.  The  good  Lord  "called  her  by  the  Gospel,  en- 
lightened her  with  his  gifts,  sanctified  and  kept  her  in  the  true 
faith." 


DEATH    or    A    CHRISTIAN    MOTHER  57 

Although  in  her  long  life  she  endured  many  hardships,  which 
fell  to  the  lot  of  the  pioneers  in  our  community,  yet  God  amply 
provided  her  with  all  that  was  necessary  for  the  support  of  this 
body  and  life.  She  lacked  for  no  good  thing  although  the  Lord 
nevpr  gave  her  great  wealth.  She  lived  within  the  limit  asked  for 
in  the  prayer  of  Solomon:  "Give  me  neither  poverty  nor  riches; 
feed  me  with  food  convenient  for  me"  (Prov.  30:  8).  God  made 
her  a  happy  wife  and  mother.  She  lived  to  see  her  children's 
children.  Long  life  is  promised  as  a  special  blessing  to  those  who 
fear  the  Lord.  God  says  of  the  righteous:  ''With  long  life  will 
I  satisfy  him"  (Ps.  91 :  16).  She  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  was 
gathered  in  like  a  ripe  sheaf. 

And  even  when  the  infirmities  of  old  age  came,  those  days  of 
which  most  of  us  say  that  we  have  no  pleasure  in  them,  she  en- 
joyed the  kindness  and  care  of  her  children  who  did  all  they 
could  to  make  her  burdens  light.  She  had  no  reason  to  believe 
that  she  was  a  burden  to  them,  but  on  the  contrary  they  made 
her  feel  that  it  was  not  so  much  a  duty  but  rather  a  pleasure  to 
care  for  her  every  want.  She  could  enjoy  the  visits  of  her  pastor 
who  ministered  to  her  spiritually  and  comforted  her  in  affliction 
with  the  precious  promises  of  God's  Word,  which  is  a  never  fail- 
ing fountain  of  comfort  in  affliction.  She  enjoyed  the  company 
of  her  Christian  friends  and  neighbors  and  could  thus  feel  that 
she  was  still  a  member  of  the  communion  of  saints  although 
unable  to  meet  with  God's  people  in  public  service  as  she  had 
been  accustomed  to  do  in  better  days.  Thank  God  for  all  this. 
To  his  grace  in  Christ  Jesus  she  owed  these  favors. 

But  when  you  are  asked  to  give  thanks  today,  do  not  overlook 
what  God  did  for  you  through  your  mother.  She  was  God's  in- 
strument for  the  bestowal  of  innumerable  blessings  upon  her 
children.  There  is  no  one  in  all  the  wide  world  whom  we  owe 
more  than  to  our  pious  parents.  And  especially  our  mothers  have 
been  singled  out  by  the  Almighty  as  instruments  and  channels 


58 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


for  the  bestowal  of  his  richest  blessings.  At  the  risk  of  her  own 
life  your  mother  gave  life  to  you.  During  the  helpless  days  of 
infancy  her  arms  carried  you  day  and  night.  Her  very  blood 
was  your  nourishment.  She  provided  food,  clothing  and  shelter 
during  all  the  days  of  dependent  childhood.  No  labor  was  too 
hard,  no  privations  too  great  when  it  came  to  making  you  com- 
fortable. How  many  sleepless  nights  she  spent  at  your  sick  bed! 
She  heard  every  sigh  of  pain  and  every  groan  of  suffering.  She 
forgot  herself  and  her  own  welfare  when  your  life,  health  and 
well-being  were  at  stake.  She  lived  not  for  herself  but  for  her 
household.  She  knew  no  higher  duties  than  those  which  she 
owed  to  husband  and  children.  She  knew  no  sweeter  pleasures 
than  those  of  the  home.  Thank  God  for  such  a  mother.  What 
you  are  today  you  owe  primarily  to  your  mother.  You  would 
be  a  helpless  cripple  but  for  her  fostering  care;  yes,  you  would 
perhaps  not  have  lived  a  month  had  it  not  been  for  her  self- 
sacrificing  love. 

She  was,  however,  concerned  not  only  in  your  bodily  but  also 
in  your  spiritual  welfare.  Yes,  as  a  Christian  mother  she  consid- 
ered your  soul  of  even  greater  value  than  your  body.  She  brought 
you  as  an  infant,  conceived  and  born  in  sin,  to  the  sacrament  of 
Baptism  that  you  might  be  regenerated  of  water  and  the  Spirit. 
It  was  she  who  first  taught  you  to  fold  your  hands  in  prayer.  She 
first  taught  you  to  lisp  the  name  of  the  Savior  in  your  morning 
and  evening  devotions  and  in  saying  grace  at  meals.  She  told 
you  the  Bible  stories  in  childlike  language  and  led  you  reverently 
to  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer.  It  was  through  her  efforts  that  you 
were  sent  to  Sunday-school  and  to  the  catechetical  class  for  in- 
struction in  the  saving  doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  It  was  beside  her 
that  you  sat  in  God's  house  when  you  first  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  meeting  with  God's  people  in  worship.  Her  watchful  eye 
guided  you  through  the  spiritual  dangers  of  childhood  and  even 
when  grown  to  manhood  and  womanhood  her  interest  in  your 


DEATH    OF    A    CHRISTIAN    MOTHER  59 

spiritual  welfare  was  largely  responsible  for  the  fact  that  you 
did  not  stray  from  the  fold  of  Christ  and  follow  the  multitudes 
on  the  broad  road  that  leadeth  to  destruction.  And  when  she 
had  become  old  and  feeble  after  she  had  borne  the  heat  and 
burden  of  life's  day,  you  were  included  in  her  daily  prayers  and 
her  advice  was  always  ready  to  guide  you  in  the  way  of  right- 
eousness and  truth.  She  watched  and  guided  your  every  step  with 
anxious  care  as  only  a  mother  can  who  is  truly  interested  in  the 
spiritual  and  eternal  welfare  of  her  children.  Thank  God  for  such 
a  mother! 

II. 

And  now  let  us  see  how  we  should  show  the  gratitude  which 
we  owe  our  mothers,  or  rather  God  for  them.  We  owe  this  debt 
of  gratitude  to  God,  for  it  was  by  his  merciful  providence  that 
we  were  so  richly  blessed  through  our  pious  parents.  As  they 
were  God's  instruments  in  the  bestowal  of  his  blessings  so  they 
are  the  best  medium  for  us  to  express  our  gratitude  to  the  Giver 
of  every  good  and  every  perfect  gift.  In  1  Tim.  5 :  4  the  Apostle 
admonishes  children  ''to  requite  their  parents:  for  that  is  good 
and  acceptable  before  God."  In  the  providence  of  God  the  time 
comes  when  parents  grow  old  and  feeble,  when  they  need  care 
and  attention  as  their  children  did  in  infancy  and  childhood. 
This  is  the  time  to  pay  back  what  we  have  received  at  their 
hands.  Do  not  put  off  the  expression  of  your  gratitude  for  the 
fostering  care  of  your  parents  until  after  they  are  dead  and  gone. 
Show  them  your  appreciation  while  they  are  yet  alive.  God  in 
his  allwise  providence  had  allowed  your  mother  to  become  help- 
less many  years  before  he  called  her  to  himself  in  heaven,  and  it 
affords  me  pleasure  to  say  that  you  watched  over  and  cared  for 
her  declining  years  with  tender  solicitude.  You  made  her  feel 
that  she  was  not  a  burden.  It  was  a  pleasure  for  you  to  make  her 
load  as  light  as  possible.  You  felt  that  you  owed  her,  and  above 


go  FUNEKAL    SERMONS 

all  God,  whose  instrument  she  was,  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  to 
pay  off  you  considered  not  only  a  duty  but  a  pleasure. 

But  the  time  came  at  last  when  your  pious  mother  was  called 
home.  She  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord.  Her  soul  has  entered  into  the 
glory  which  God  has  in  store  for  his  people  above.  Her  lifeless 
body  is  all  that  remains  with  us.  And  even  that  we  must  hasten 
to  commit  to  the  earth  because  of  the  decay  to  which  it  will 
shortly  fall  prey.  And  now  we  have  brought  her  body  once  more 
into  the  house  of  God  to  hold  over  it  a  solemn  funeral  service.  We 
are  giving  your  mother  honorable  Christian  burial  as  a  last 
tribute  of  respect  to  one  who  has  lived  and  died  as  a  Christian. 
So  we  show  our  gratitude  to  Christian  parents.  Your  mother  de- 
lighted in  the  services  of  God's  house  as  long  as  she  was  physi- 
cally able  to  attend.  And  even  when  this  was  not  possible  by 
reason  of  bodily  infirmity  she  was  in  spirit  with  us  in  the  assem- 
bly of  God's  people  when  the  church  bell  rang.  There  is  neither 
sense  nor  propriety  in  bringing  the  lifeless  remains  of  one  who 
has  despised  and  neglected  the  services  of  God's  house  while  he 
lived  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord  when  he  is  dead.  But  when  a 
devoted  Christian  dies,  who  during  his  life  could  truly  say:  ''How 
amiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  0  Lord  of  hosts!  My  soul  longeth, 
yea  even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord"  (Ps.  84:  1),  it  is 
fitting  and  proper  that  his  remains  be  carried  into  God's  house 
while  his  family  and  friends  receive  comfort,  consolation,  admo- 
nition, and  instruction  from  God's  Word.  This  public  Christian 
funeral  service  is  not  a  matter  of  vain  display,  but  a  tribute  of 
honor  to  the  faith  and  Christian  character  of  those  who  die  in 
the   Lord. 

And  from  God's  house  we  carry  the  remains  of  your  departed 
mother  to  God's  acre,  there  to  bury  it,  in  the  sure  and  certain 
hope  of  the  resurrrection  to  eternal  life  at  the  last  day,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  shall  change  our  vile  bodies  that  they 
may  be  like  unto  his  own  glorious  body  according  to  the  mighty 


DEATH    OF    A    CHRISTIAN    MOTHER  Ql 

working  by  which  he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  to  himself.  We 
pay  respect  to  the  faith  of  our  Christian  fathers  and  mothers  when 
over  their  graves  we  give  expression  to  this  blessed  hope  in  which 
they  lived  and  died.  Yes,  the  faith  in  which  they  lived  should 
be  confessed  over  their  graves.  We  owe  it  to  their  sainted  mem- 
ories to  bury  them  in  the  faith  in  which  they  died. 

But  our  gratitude  to  a  pious  Christian  mother  should  not  end 
with  her  burial.  It  is  customary  to  erect  monuments  over  the 
graves  of  our  loved  ones,  to  mark  the  resting  places  where  their 
decaying  bodies  await  the  resurrection  of  the  just  at  the  last 
day.  We  would  not  say  one  word  in  disparagement  of  this  cus- 
tom so  far  as  it  keeps  in  proper  bounds  and  is  not  a  mere  display 
of  senseless  pomp  and  vanity.  But  the  best  monument  which 
children  can  erect  to  the  memory  of  their  sainted  parents  is  a 
devoted  and  consistent  Christian  life.  Let  us  follow  the  instruc- 
tions and  example  of  our  pious  fathers  and  mothers  and  thus 
prove  to  the  world  that  they  have  not  lived  in  vain.  Let  it  be 
your  purpose  to  prove  in  your  own  life  that  the  life  of  your 
mother  was  not  a  failure;  that  the  good  seed  which  she  sowed 
fell  upon  good  ground  and  is  bearing  rich  fruit.  The  Christian 
character  of  a  child  is  the  best  and  most  lasting  monument  that 
can  be  erected  to  the  memory  of  a  pious  mother.  Show  the  world 
by  a  consistent  Christian  life  that  you  are  not  only  a  bodily 
descendant  but  a  true  spiritual  child  of  your  sainted  mother. 
Do  not  disgrace  her  good  name  by  a  life  of  vanity  and  vice  but 
honor  her  name  by  one  of  godliness,  sobriety,  honesty  and  purity. 
Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see  your  good 
works  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  and  laud 
your  pious  mother  who  was  his  instrument  in  bringing  you  up 
as  Christians.    God  grant  it!    Amen. 


STONES   ROLLED   AWAY 
By  Rev.  A.  K.  Bell 

"And  very  early  in  the  morning,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  they  came 
unto  the  sepulchre  at  the  rising  of  the  sun.  And  they  said  among  them- 
selves, Who  shall  roll  us  away  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre? 
And  when  they  looked,  they  saw  that  the  stone  was  rolled  away:  for  it  was 
very  great." — Mark  16:  2-4. 

Our  God  who  has  promised  not  to  leave  his  trusting  children 
comfortless,  gives  us  a  blessed  word  of  hope  through  his  prophet 
Isaiah,  when  he  says,  ''That  before  they  call,  I  will  answer:  and 
while  they  are  yet  speaking,  I  will  hear." 

So  it  was  indeed,  on  that  first  Easter  morning,  as  the  women 
came  with  bowed  heads  and  grief-stricken  hearts  to  the  tomb 
of  our  Lord  to  complete  with  womanly  exactness  and  tenderness 
the  work  of  embalming,  which  the  men  in  the  haste  of  the  ap- 
proaching Sabbath  had  not  the  time  to  do  thoroughly  on  Good 
Friday  afternoon.  Before  they  had  opportunity  to  solicit  the  aid 
of  any  one  in  giving  them  access  to  the  dead  body  of  their  Master 
by  rolling  from  the  door  of  the  tomb  the  great  stone  that  seemed 
to  make  their  way  impassable,  behold,  as  they  lifted  their  bowed 
heads,  they  saw  plainly,  even  through  their  tears,  that  the  stone 
was  rolled  away  and  an  angel  of  light  was  sitting  upon  it. 

May  we  not  take  this  incident  as  a  parable  of  what  our  gra- 
cious heavenly  Father  is  doing  for  you,  his  believing  children, 
today  as  you  walk  in  the  way  of  sorrows  to  the  tomb  of  your 
loved  one? 

May  the  Holy  Spirit,  our  ever  present  Guide  and  Comforter, 
lead  us  from  this  way  of  sorrow  into  the  way  of  truth  and 
show  us: — 

62 


STONES    ROLLED    AWAY  g3 

Stones  Rolled  Away 

Behold  how  he  shows  you: 
I.  The  Stone  of  Sin  and  Death  Rolled  Away. 
II.  The  Stone  of  Unbelief  Rolled  Away. 
III.  The  Stone  of  Human  Grief  and  Anxious  Care  Rolled 
Away. 

I.  Our  text  show^  the  Christian  believer  the  Stone  of  Sin 
and  Death  Eolled  Away  in  the  resurrection  of  his  blessed  Lord. 

St.  Paul  says  of  Christ  that  ''he  was  delivered  for  our  offences, 
and  was  raised  again  for  our  justification,"  and  again,  ''if  Christ 
be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain ;  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins. " 

Christ's  resurrection  is  the  stamp  of  God's  approval  on  the 
offering  of  our  Lord  made  in  his  own  bitter  sufferings  and  death 
to  put  away  our  sin  and  its  curse  from  us.  The  emptying  of  the 
tomb  in  Joseph's  garden,  which  could  be  seen  by  the  eye  of 
flesh,  is  the  evidence  to  the  eye  of  faith,  of  the  emptying  of  sin 
and  death  of  all  their  curse  and  power  over  the  believer  who  is 
still  alive  or  over  those  who  have  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  has  said  to  us,  "He  that  believeth  in  me, 
though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and 
believeth  in  me  shall  never  die."  His  own  glorious  resurrection 
power  over  death  is  evidence  that  he  can  fulfil  this  wonderful 
promise  by  exerting  this  same  power  in  our  behalf.  Tea,  it  is 
sufficient  evidence  that  he  has  fulfilled  this  promise  he  has  made 
us.  By  his  mighty  resurrection  power  he  has  rolled  away  from 
us  the  stone  of  sin  and  death. 

And  what  a  heavy  stone  this  is  that  he  has  thus  rolled  away 
from  us!  Like  a  mill-stone  it  has  hung  about  the  neck  of  every 
human  being  from  our  first  parents  on  down  to  us,  dragging 
those  under  its  weight  down  in  misery  to  destruction  and  death. 

Oh,  the  burden  of  sin  which  has  weighed  upon  the  conscience 
of  humanity  from  the  time  the  first  sin-burdened  souls  tried  to 


64 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


hide  from  God  in  Eden,  or  the  first  murderer  cried  out  in  despair. 
"My  punishment  is  greater  than  I  can  bear!" 

Everywhere  one  looks  he  may  see  mankind  burdened,  de- 
pressed and  dragged  down,  struggling,  staggering  and  falling 
under  the  crushing  burden  of  a  great  weight  too  heavy  for  any 
mortal  to  bear. 

When  the  soul  is  wearied  and  crushed  under  this  load,  how 
welcome  is  the  voice  of  One  who  can  say,  ''Come  unto  me,  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  .  .  . 
For  my  yoke  is  easy  and  my  burden  is  light. ' ' 

He  has  borne  the  burden  of  our  sin,  and  not  ours  only,  but 
the  sin  of  the  whole  world,  for  "the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the 
iniquity  of  us  all." 

How  heavy  was  that  burden  of  sin?  Go  to  dark  Gethsemane 
and  there  amidst  the  shadows  hear  our  Burden-bearer  say,  ''My 
soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death";  hear  him  agon- 
izing in  prayer  under  that  burden  until  its  awful  weight  so 
crushed  him,  that  his  sweat  became  as  it  were  great  drops  of 
blood  falling  down  to  the  ground;  go  to  Golgotha  and  there,  be- 
neath that  central  cross,  hear  the  awful  words  that  fell  from 
his  lips  as  he  suffered  the  agonies  of  eternal  death  for  a  lost 
world,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?" 

How  heavy  was  that  burden  of  sin?  Behold  in  the  blood  and 
water  gushing  from  his  pierced  side  the  evidence  that  our  Lord's 
heart  was  actually  broken  under  the  burden  of  sin  he  bore,  not 
for  himself,  but  for  us. 

This  burden  of  sin,  which  crushed  the  Man  of  Sorrows  physi- 
cally and  spiritually,  does  not  rest  upon  those  who  by  faith  make 
Christ  their  Substitute,  for  he  has  rolled  away  the  stone  of  sin 
from  them  by  his  own  death  for  them,  and  assures  them  of  it 
by  his  resurrection  from  the  dead. 

What  he  has  done  for  sin,  he  has  done  for  death,  for  from 
the  beginning  sin  and  death  have  been  inseparable.   "In  the  day 


STONES    ROLLED    AWAY  65 

that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die.''  ''The  wages  of 
sin  is  death.''  Therefore,  when  Christ,  in  his  resurrection  power, 
rolls  away  from  us  the  stone  of  sin,  he  rolls  away  from  us,  also, 
the  stone  of  death. 

Christ's  resurrection  is  only  the  first-fruits,  which  shall  yet 
be  followed  by  the  resurrection  of  all  those  who  sleep  in  Jesus. 
As  he  came  forth  gloriously,  so  must  they;  as  the  grave  held  no 
victory  over  him,  neither  shall  it  hold  any  victory  over  Christ's 
own  at  his  coming. 

Lift  up  your  heads  then,  ye  who  mourn,  and  look,  for  this 
stone,  which  was  very  great,  is  already  rolled  away  for  you  and 
for  your  loved  one,  for  through  Christ  you  can  bid  defiance  to 
both  sin  and  death  and  say,  ''0  Death,  where  is  thy  sting?  0 
Grave,  where  is  thy  victory?  The  sting  of  death  is  sin;  and  the 
strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  But  thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth 
us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

II.  Christ's  resurrection  just  as  gloriously  rolls  away  for  us 
the  Stone  of  Unbelief. 

Even  those  who  loved  Christ  most  did  not  believe  at  first, 
before  they  saw  that  great  stone  rolled  away  from  the  door  of 
his  tomb.  They  were  coming  in  the  early  dawning  of  the  first  day 
of  the  week  with  sweet  spices  that  they  might  anoint  him.  They 
had  no  hope  of  finding  any  other  than  a  dead  Lord  when  they 
came  to  his  tomb.  They  acted  as  though  Christ  had  never  said 
a  word  about  his  arising  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day.  If  they 
had  believed  his  words  they  would  have  gone  out  to  find  a  living 
instead  of  a  dead  Lord. 

But  the  unbelief  of  his  disciples  was  even  more  determined 
than  that  of  the  woman.  We  read  that  the  women  "returned 
from  the  sepulchre,  and  told  all  these  things  unto  the  eleven, 
and  to  all  the  rest.  And  their  words  seemed  to  them  as  idle  tales, 
and  they  believed  them  not."  Repeatedly  as  the  good  news  of 
the  empty  tomb  was  brought  some  of  them  persisted  in  unbelief. 


QQ  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

In  strange  contrast  with  this  unbelief  is  the  attitude  of 
Christ's  enemies,  the  chief  priests,  for  as  soon  as  the  Roman 
guard  bring  their  report  of  the  resurrection  and  the  rolling 
away  of  the  stone,  they  accept  it  as  true,  remembering  that  this 
is  just  what  he  said  he  would  do  on  the  third  day,  and  they  bribe 
the  soldiers  to  lie  and  say  that  his  disciples  came  and  stole  him 
away  while  they  slept. 

But  when  once  Christ's  disciples  saw  the  great  sealed  stone 
rolled  away  their  uubelief  and  doubt  was  forever  rolled  away, 
and  their  faith  in  his  resurrection,  his  deity  and  his  saving  power 
forever  established. 

No  fact  in  the  history  of  the  world  stands  on  stronger  evidence 
than  does  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  One  of  Christianity's 
ablest  opponents  calls  it  ''the  very  center  of  the  center"  and 
says  there  is  no  use  of  wasting  time  in  discussing  the  other  mira- 
cles of  Jesus  because  everything  else  stands  or  falls  with  the 
resurrection  of  Christ. 

If  Christ  is  risen  from  the  dead  everything  else  in  the  Bible 
is  proven  to  be  possible,  for  this  is  the  miracle  of  miracles. 

The  rolling  away  of  all  unbelief  and  doubt  is  accomplished 
in  this  rolling  away  of  the  great  stone  from  the  door  of  Joseph's 
tomb. 

"How  tranquil  now  the  rising  day! 
'Tis  Jesus  still  appears, 
A  risen  Lord,  to  chase  away 

Your  unbelieving  fears: 
Oh,  weep  no  more  your  comforts  slain, 
The  Lord  is  risen,  he  lives  again." 

III.  "With  the  great  stones  of  Sin  and  Death  and  Unbelief 
rolled  away  for  us  through  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  it  follows  but  naturally  that  the  stone  of  human  grief  and 
anxious  care  should  be  rolled  away  from  us. 

The  women  came  to  the  tomb  with  heavier  hearts  than  those 
that  throb  in  your  breasts  today,  for  you  have  heard  of  Easter  and 


STONES    ROLLED    AWAY  67 

they  had  not  as  yet.  But  when  the  angel  answered  and  said  unto 
the  women,  ''Fear  not  ye:  for  I  know  that, ye  seek  Jesus,  which 
was  crucified.  He  is  not  here,  for  he  is  risen  as  he  said.  Come, 
see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay,"  their  grief  vanished,  and 
instead,  they  were  filled  with  joy  inexpressible.  ''Then  were  the 
disciples  glad  when  they  saw  the  Lord."  That  gladness  was 
born  of  the  knowledge  that  the  One  they  mourned  was  not  among 
the  dead,  where  they  sought  him,  but  among  the  living  where 
he  said  he  would  be. 

Oh,  if  we,  here  below,  could  only  look  upon  God's  plans  from 
his  side,  the  upper  side,  the  right  side !  A  mother  is  working  a 
beautiful  design  in  the  cloth  upon  the  frame  in  her  hands;  a 
little  child  sits  questioning  at  her  side,  looking  up  at  the  rough 
threads  and  loose  ends,  and  wonders  what  mamma  is  making, 
for  there  is  no  beauty,  no  design,  no  plan  to  be  seen  in  her  work 
from  the  child's  view-point. 

Beloved,  may  it  not  be  quite  like  this  with  the  plan  our 
Father  in  heaven  is  working  out  in  your  lives  today?  Today  we 
sit  in  the  place  of  the  child;  we  look  through  our  tears  at  the 
under-side  of  God's  workmanship;  we  see  no  beauty  of  design 
in  it ;  we  wonder  why  this  thread  should  have  been  broken  here, 
or  another  there ;  or  how  these  ragged  ends  in  their  unloveliness 
could  add  anything  to  the  beauty  of  the  design  our  God  is  working 
out  in  the  fabric  of  our  lives. 

In  the  midst  of  our  perplexity  he  says  to  us.  My  little  chil- 
dren, what  I  do  ye  know  not  now,  but  ye  shall  know  hereafter. 
For  now  ye  look  at  my  work  from  the  wrong  side,  the  side  of 
the  ragged  ends,  the  ugly,  broken  threads;  hereafter  ye  shall 
look  upon  that  same  work  from  the  right  side,  God's  side,  and 
the  beauty  of  the  design  will  amaze  you,  and  you  will  realize  that 
in  all  of  those  broken  threads  and  ragged  ends  your  God  knew 
best  and  he  made  no  mistakes. 


68 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


Here  there  are  tribulations  and  sorrows,  trials  and  tears ;  but 
there  '^God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes;  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  neither  shall 
there  be  any  more  pain:  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away." 

But  this  great  stone  of  grief  will  not  only  be  rolled  com- 
pletely away  for  us  hereafter,  it  is  rolled  away  for  us  here  and 
now,  as  completely  as  it  was  rolled  away  for  the  women  in  their 
grief  on  the  first  Easter  morn. 

Is  it  not  so  with  all  the  anxious  cares  that  grow  out  of  our 
griefs  to  perplex  and  trouble  us?  Like  the  women  of  our  text 
you  may  be  saying  among  yourselves  today:  **Who  shall  roll  us 
away  the  stone?"  Readjustments  will  be  necessary  in  the  house- 
hold; new  and  grave  responsibilities  will  fall  upon  shoulders 
unused  to  them  and  inexperienced.  And  from  where  you  sit  now 
in  your  sorrow  these  seem  too  heavy  for  your  strength  and  there 
seems  to  be  no  one  to  roll  the  weight  away  for  you.  So  thought 
the  faithful  women  that  first  Easter  morning  in  Joseph's  gar- 
den, and  then,  behold,  as  they  looked  up  they  found  that  the 
stone  was  rolled  away  already. 

Even  so  it  is  with  all  of  us  and  shall  be  with  you  as  you 
approach  the  cares  that  perplex  and  the  responsibilities  that 
terrify  you. 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  the  things  that  we  worry  and 
are  anxious  about  are  things  that  never  happen;  things  that  in 
God's  merciful  providence  are  rolled  out  of  our  way  or  taken 
care  of  satisfactorily  in  some  unexpected  manner.  "As  thy  days, 
so  shall  thy  strength  be,"  saith  your  God  to  you,  the  same  God 
who  sent  his  angel  to  roll  away  the  great  stone  that  troubled  the 
women  as  they  approached  the  empty  tomb  of  our  Lord.  He 
says  to  you  as  you  trouble  yourselves  about  the  great  stones  you 
think  are  in  your  way,  ''Cast  all  your  care  upon  him,  for  he 
careth  for  you,"  and  again,  ''Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled: 
believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  me." 


STONES    ROLLED    AWAY  69 

If  we  will  only  do  this,  only  believe  in  God  and  his  Son  who 
went  through  sorrow  and  death  and  the  grave  for  us,  to  rob 
them  of  all  their  power  over  us,  we  shall  look  up  as  did  the 
women  and  see  that  every  stone  will  be  rolled  away  for  us,  even 
the  great  stones  of  Sin  and  Death,  of  Unbelief,  and  of  Human 
Grief  and  Anxious  Care. 

''Thanks  be  to  God  which  giveth  us  the  victory,  through  our 
Lord,  Jesus  Christ/'  Amen. 


FAITH  BEHOLDS  THE  GLORY  OP  GOD 

By  Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 

"Jesus  said:  Take  ye  away  the  stone.  Martha,  the  sister  of  him  that 
was  dead,  saith  unto  him,  Lord,  "by  this  time  he  stinketh:  for  he  hath  been 
dead  four  days.  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Said  I  not  unto  thee,  that,  if  thou 
wouldst  believe,  thou  shouldest  see  the  glory  of  God?" — John  11:  39,  40. 

Occasion:  On  the  Death  of  a  Christian  Man 

Dearly  Beloved  in  the  Lord : 

The  little  village  of  Bethany  was  situated  not  far  from  Jeru- 
salem. Here  lived  two  sisters,  Mary  and  Martha,  and  their 
brother,  Lazarus.  This  home  was  frequently  graced  with  the 
presence  of  the  Savior.  Its  inmates  were  his  dear  friends,  and 
he  frequently  enjoyed  their  hospitality.  It  was  a  happy  home, 
as  only  a  Christian  home,  where  the  Savior  is  a  welcome  guest, 
can  be.  But  sorrow  came  to  this  home.  Lazarus,  the  friend  of 
Jesus,  was  taken  seriously  ill.  When  things  began  to  assume  a 
dangerous  aspect  the  sisters  sent  word  to  the  Savior,  saying: 
''Lord,  behold,  he  whom  thou  lovest  is  sick"  (John  11:  3).  They 
took  it  for  granted  that  the  mere  announcement  would  be  all 
that  was  necessary  to  bring  the  Savior  with  his  ever  ready, 
omnipotent  help  to  the  rescue.  But,  strange  to  say,  we  read: 
''When  he  had  heard  therefore  that  he  was  sick,  he  abode  two 
days  still  in  the  same  place  where  he  was"  (John  11:  6).  Not 
until  after  his  friend  had  died  and  lain  in  the  grave  four  days 
did  Jesus  arrive  at  the  house  of  mourning.  Martha  met  him  with 
the  sad  words:  "Lord,  if  thou  hadst  been  here,  my  brother  had 
not  died."  But  full  of  confidence  she  added:  "But  I  know,  that 
even  now,  whatsoever  thou  wilt  ask  of  God,  God  will  give  it 

70 


FAITH  BEHOLDS  THE  GLORY  OP  GOD      7X 

thee."  And  her  faith  was  not  to  be  disappointed.  For  a  moment 
when  she  stood  before  the  open  sepulchre  with  its  awful  odors 
of  corruption  her  faith  faltered.  Then  it  was  that  the  Savior 
spake  the  words  of  our  text :  ' '  Said  I  not  unto  thee,  that  if  thou 
wouldest  believe,  thou  shouldest  see  the  glory  of  God?"  There 
is  a  glorious  truth  contained  in  these  words.  A  truth  that  it  is 
well  for  you,  mourning  friends,  to  take  to  heart.  Yes,  a  truth 
which  may  serve  to  the  edification  of  us  all  as  we  look  back  over 
the  life,  sufferings  and  death  of  our  departed  brother.  Let  me 
endeavor  to  show  you 

How  Faith  Beholds  the  Glory  of  God 

I.  In  the  Life, 
II.  In  the  Sufferings,  and 
III.  In  the  Death  of  Our  Departed  Brother. 


The  world  sees  nothing  specially  glorious  in  such  a  life  as 
that  which  has  just  been  brought  to  a  close.  There  are  some  lives 
which  appear  glorious  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  When  a  man  in 
the  short  space  of  a  life  time  accumulates  vast  wealth,  when,  no 
matter  how,  whether  by  fair  or  foul  means,  he  succeeds  in 
amassing  millions,  he  is  looked  upon  as  gloriously  successful. 
Or  when  a  man  arises  from  obscurity  to  honor  and  distinction, 
when  he  succeeds  in  wielding  great  power  so  that  thousands  and 
millions  do  his  bidding,  the  world  looks  upon  his  life  as  eminently 
successful. 

Our  brother  was  not  great  in  this  sense.  He  was  just  one  of 
the  common  people,  just  an  ordinary  mortal  like  thousands  and 
millions  of  others  who  never  rise  to  distinction  in  the  eyes  of  the 
world.  He  was  satisfied  to  eat  his  daily  bread  with  thanksgiving. 
Having  food  and  raiment  he  was  therewith  content.    He  never 


72 


FUNERAL   SERMONS 


had  an  ambition  to  do  extraordinary  things,  things  that  would 
astonish  the  world  and  set  it  agog.  He  deemed  it  sufficient  to  fill 
well  the  position  which  God  had  marked  out  for  him,  no  matter 
how  humble  it  might  be.  He  was  a  common  workman,  just  a 
plain  husband  and  father,  an  ordinary  church  member. 

And  yet  we  claim  his  life  was  a  glorious  one  when  looked 
upon  with  the  eye  of  faith.  From  all  eternity  God  had  plans  for 
the  salvation  of  our  departed  brother.  And  in  the  fulness  of 
time  he  carried  out  these  plans,  by  the  sending  of  his  only  be- 
gotten Son  into  the  world  as  his  Savior.  Was  it  not  a  glorious 
thing  that  when  the  fulness  of  time  had  come  God  sent  forth  his 
Son  made  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law  to  redeem  our  brother 
that  he  might  receive  the  adoption  of  a  son?  "Was  it  not  a 
glorious  thing  that  God  met  him  on  the  very  threshold  of  life 
and  through  the  washing  of  water  by  the  Word  adopted  him 
into  the  covenant  of  his  grace?  Was  it  not  a  glorious  thing  that 
having  been  conceived  and  born  in  sin  God  bestowed  upon  him 
the  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost? 
Was  it  not  a  glorious  thing  that  God  kindled  in  his  heart  the 
spark  of  faith  and  through  the  influence  of  pious  parents,  and 
faithful  teachers  and  pastors  fanned  this  spark  into  a  flame  that 
burned  more  brightly  from  year  to  year?  Was  it  not  a  glorious 
thing  that  he  enjoyed  the  blessed  privilege  of  living  in  the  fel- 
lowship of  the  saints  all  his  days?  That  from  his  earliest  child- 
hood even  to  the  hour  of  his  departure  from  this  vale  of  tears 
he  could  drink  in  the  living  water  of  the  pure  Gospel,  that  he 
could  meet  with  God's  people  at  the  altar  of  the  Lord  there  to 
receive  the  very  body  and  blood  of  the  crucified  Lamb  of  God  as 
most  precious  pledges  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  of  sonship  in 
the  spiritual  family  of  God  and  of  the  hope  of  everlasting  life? 

Then  see  what  a  glorious  thing  it  was  that  God  made  him  a 
happy  husband  and  the  father  of  pious  children,  that  he  gave  him 
in  his  faithful  wife  a  true  helpmeet,  one  who  shared  the  joys  and 


FAITH  BEHOLDS  THE  GLORY  OP  GOD      73 

sorrows  of  life  with  him  as  only  a  Christian  wife  can?  Was  it 
not  a  glorious  thing  that  God  did  not  withhold  from  him  the 
blessing  of  children,  and  such  children  as  were  a  real  pleasure  to 
their  father?  For  all  these  years  he  enjoyed  the  sunshine  of  a 
Christian  home,  that  he  and  his  never  lacked  bread  and  even  en- 
joyed a  fair  share  of  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  life  ? 

Was  it  not  a  glorious  thing  that  God  called  him  into  his 
service,  that  he  could  live  in  accordance  with  the  apostolic  in- 
junction :  ' '  Whatsoever  ye  do  in  word  or  deed,  do  all  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  giving  thanks  to  God  and  the  Father  by  him" 
(Col.  3:  17)?  He  was  a  servant  of  the  most  high  God  and  that 
is  the  greatest  honor  that  can  be  conferred  on  mortal  man.  It 
places  him  on  a  level  with  the  angels  who  are  God's  ministering 
spirits. 

Yes,  my  brethren,  there  is  much  in  the  humble  life  of  our 
departed  brother  that  is  glorious  but  it  requires  the  eye  of  faith 
to  see  it. 

II. 

But  strange  as  it  may  seem  there  was  something  glorious  not 
only  in  the  life  but  even  in  the  sufferings  of  our  brother.  It  may 
sound  strange  that  there  should  be  anything  glorious  about  suf- 
fering. The  world  is  no  friend  of  suffering  and  goes  to  almost 
any  length  to  escape  it.  A  life  of  pleasure  and  not  of  suffering 
is  its  glory.  "Let  us  eat  and  drink  and  be  merry,  for  tomorrow 
we  die."  The  world  aims  to  get  all  the  good  out  of  life  it  can. 
It  pities  those  who  cannot  enjoy  a  large  share  of  the  creature 
comforts  of  life.  Poverty,  sickness,  pain,  disappointment,  re- 
verses and  the  like  are  considered  great  misfortunes.  It  weeps 
and  mourns  over  its  sufferings.  Yes,  it  even  curses  and  raves 
when  things  go  wrong.  So  far  from  seeing  anything  glorious  in 
suffering  it  considers  a  life  of  suffering  as  worse  than  a  failure. 
It  would  rather  not  live  at  all  than  live  a  life  of  suffering.   Job 


74 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


cursed  the  day  of  his  birth  under  the  influence  of  his  losses  and 
pains. 

And  yet  there  is  something  glorious  about  the  sufferings  of  a 
child  of  God.  A  Christian  knows  that  he  is  not  the  football  of 
chance,  but  that  he  is  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances 
under  God's  merciful  providence.  That  nothing  can  befall  him 
except  by  the  permissive  will  of  his  dear  Father  in  heaven.  The 
Savior  says:  ''Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  farthing?  And 
one  of  them  shall  not  fall  on  the  ground  without  your  Father. 
But  the  very  hairs  of  your  head  are  all  numbered.  Fear  not, 
therefore,  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows"  (Matt.  10: 
29,  30).  God's  all-seeing  eye  is  always  open  over  us.  He  is  at  the 
helm  of  our  Lord's  ship.  We  can  safely  entrust  ourselves  to  him. 

We  can  look  to  him  for  grace  and  strength  in  every  trouble. 
He  never  allows  loads  to  be  placed  upon  us  without  giving  the 
strength  necessary  to  carry  them.  He  never  suffers  us  to  be 
tempted  above  what  we  are  able  to  bear,  and  with  every  tempta- 
tion also  makes  a  way  of  escape.  What  an  example  of  God's 
sustaining  grace  was  the  life  of  our  departed  brother!  How 
cheerfully  he  bore  his  load  of  sickness,  pain  and  suffering! 
Without  murmur  or  complaint  he  submitted  to  the  will  of  his 
heavenly  Father,  knowing  that  God  doeth  all  things  well.  His 
life  was  not  all  sunshine.  He  was  often  under  a  cloud.  Yes,  it 
seems  that  with  him  misfortuntes  never  came  singly.  He  was 
never  blessed  with  over-much  of  this  world's  goods.  It  was  often 
a  vexing  question  how  to  make  ends  meet.  He  had  his  full  share 
of  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.  Sickness  and  even  death  repeatedly 
knocked  at  his  door.  To  a  superficial  observer  it  might  seem 
that  his  days  of  adversity  by  far  outnumbered  those  of  prosperity. 
How  glorious  that  in  all  these  sad  experiences  he  knew  that  the 
Lord  was  with  him  and  he  could  say  with  the  Psalmist:  ''Yea, 
though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will 


FAITH  BEHOLDS  THE  GLORY  OF  GOD 


75 


fear  no  evil:  for  thou  art  with  me.  Thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they 
comfort  me"  (Ps.  23:  4). 

What  a  glorious  thing  it  is  to  know  that  God  can  bring  good 
out  of  evil!  He  overrules  all  our  sorrows  and  makes  them  re- 
dound to  his  glory  and  our  good.  What  seem  to  be  our  greatest 
misfortunes  will  in  the  end  prove  to  be  our  greatest  blessings. 
''Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord;  trust  also  in  him  and  he  shall 
bring  it  to  pass.  And  he  shall  bring  forth  thy  righteousness  as 
the  light  and  thy  judgment  as  the  noonday"  (Ps.  37:  5,  6). 

The  Christian  often  suffers  not  only  the  ills  that  are  common 
to  all  men,  but  for  his  Lord's  sake.  He  is  hated  and  persecuted 
just  because  he  is  faithful  to  his  Master.  Instead  of  being  ashamed 
of  such  afflictions  the  Christian  glories  in  them.  It  is  a  glorious 
thing  that  we  are  deemed  worthy  to  suffer  with  Christ  and  for 
his  sake.  Such  suffering  we  should  regard  as  a  special  mark  of 
distinction,  a  badge  of  honor.  If  the  world  hates  our  Lord  and 
Master  what  else  can  we  expect  than  that  it  will  hate  us  also 
who  walk  in  his  footsteps?  The  Savior  says:  "Blessed  are  ye, 
when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  persecute  you,  and  shall  say  all 
manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake.  Rejoice  and  be 
exceeding  glad:  for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven;  for  so  per- 
secuted they  the  prophets  which  were  before  you"  (Matt.  5: 
11,  12).  It  is  an  honor  to  bear  the  cross  after  the  Savior. 
"Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake 
for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven"  (Matt.  5:  10).  Yes,  faith 
beholds  much  glory  in  suffering  and  of  this  our  departed  brother 
was  an  illustrious  example. 

III. 

But  faith  beholds  the  glory  of  God  not  only  in  his  life  and 
sufferings  but  even  in  his  death.  In  the  eyes  of  the  world  there 
is  nothing  glorious  about  an  ordinary  death.  In  fact  death  is 
regarded  as  the  king  of  terrors.   A  man  will  give  all  he  has  to 


76 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


save  his  life.  The  preservation  of  life  is  one  of  the  first  laws  of 
nature.  What  an  awful  calamity  is  death!  How  ruthlessly  it 
tears  apart  the  tenderest  ties  of  life !  What  a  procession  of  mis- 
ery and  wretchedness  follow  in  its  wake !  It  fills  the  world  with 
widows  and  orphans.  It  starts  the  tears  of  mothers  and  the  sighs 
of  fathers.  Jesus  himself  wept  at  the  grave  of  his  friend  Lazarus. 

And  yet  there  are  circumstances  under  which  even  the  world 
looks  at  death  as  glorious.  To  die  for  one's  country,  fighting 
in  a  good  cause,  to  lay  down  one's  life  on  the  altar  of  patriotism 
has  always  been  regarded  as  honorable.  There  have  ever  been 
martyrs  of  science  and  invention  whose  death  is  prized  as  some- 
thing great. 

But  the  death  of  our  departed  brother  was  not  of  this  kind. 
It  was  just  a  plain,  ordinary  death.  Such  a  death  as  thousands 
die  every  day.  What  is  there  glorious  about  submitting  to  the 
inevitable,  and  going  the  way  of  all  flesh?  Yes,  when  we  think 
of  that  which  comes  after  death,  of  the  decay  and  corruption  of 
the  grave,  of  the  judgment  which  death  ushers  in,  of  the  eternity 
whose  awful  uncertainties  begin  with  death,  it  is  too  terrible  to 
think  of. 

And  yet,  to  the  eye  of  faith,  death  is  something  glorious. 
"Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth: 
yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors,  and 
their  works  do  follow  them"  (Rev.  14:  13).  To  those  who  die 
in  the  Lord  death  brings  rest,  eternal  rest,  rest  from  all  labor, 
pain,  and  sorrow.  For  "God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from 
their  eyes;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow, 
nor  crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain;  for  the  former 
things  are  passed  away"  (Rev.  14:  4).  What  a  blessed  prospect 
for  a  poor,  afflicted,  wayworn  pilgrim,  that  he  shall  soon  reach 
the  end  of  his  sad  journey! 

To  a  child  of  God  death  comes  as  a  welcome  messenger  calling 
the  wanderer  home.  Even  our  poor  wasted  bodies,  after  they  have 


FAITH  BEHOLDS  THE  GLORY  OF  GOD      77 

rested  temporarily  in  the  grave,  shall  arise  to  new  life  and  glory  in 
the  general  resurrection  at  the  last  day.  ' '  The  dead  in  Christ  shall 
rise  first  .  .  .  and  so  shall  we  ever  be  with  the  Lord"  (I 
Thess.  4:  16,  17).  The  life  everlasting  which  we  confess  in  the 
creed  is  a  life  of  endless  joy  and  perfect  happiness.  ''Eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of 
man,  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
him"  (I  Cor.  2:9).  Death  is  to  the  true  believer  the  beginning 
of  this  glory.  Is  it  a  wonder  that  he  has  a  longing  for  it?  St. 
Paul  speaks  of  himself  as  ''having  a  desire  to  depart  and  be 
with  Christ"  (Phil.  1:  23).  For  says  he:  "For  me  to  live  is 
Christ,  and  to  die  is  gain"  (Phil.  1:  21).  From  this  point  of  view 
death  loses  its  terrors.  It  is  changed  into  a  sweet  sleep  from 
which  there  will  be  a  glorious  awakening. 

Let  us  thank  God  for  this  prospect.  Yes,  faith  sees  the  glory 
of  God  in  life,  in  suffering  and  in  death.  This  is  our  comfort 
today  for  we  are  gathered  around  the  bier  of  a  child  of  God.  May 
God  help  us  to  realize  what  a  glorious  thing  it  is  to  live,  to  suffer 
and  to  die  as  a  true  Christian.    Amen. 


THE    BLESSINGS    OF    GOD    IN    THE    LIFE    OF    THE 

DEPARTED 

By  Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 

"Now  the  Lord  had  said  unto  Abraham,  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country, 
and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will 
shew  thee:  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee, 
and  make  thy  name  great;  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing:  and  I  will  bless 
them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee:  and  in  thee  shall  all 
families  of  the  earth  be  blessed." — Gen.  12:  1-3. 

Occasion:  Funeral  Sermon  for  a  Man  Prominent  in  the  Work 

of  the  Church 

Dearly  Beloved  in  the  Lord  Jesus : 

In  funeral  sermons  men  usually  expect  praise.  They  often 
expect  men  to  be  praised  where  in  reality  there  is  very  little  to 
be  praised.  In  fact  the  eulogy  of  the  dead  seems  to  some  the  chief 
object  of  funeral  sermons.  But  why  should  we  flatter  the  dead? 
If  there  is  anything  praiseworthy,  it  is  the  gift  of  God.  What- 
ever praise  we  give  should  be  given  to  the  Giver  of  every  good 
and  perfect  gift.  The  death  of  our  beloved  brother  affords  much 
opportunity  for  praise.  Yes,  we  feel  today  like  singing:  ''Praise 
God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow. ' '  His  life  was  an  illustrious 
example  of  the  blessings  of  Almighty  God.  Let  us  look  upon  it 
from  this  point  of  view,  while  I  speak  to  you  concerning 

The  Blessings  of  God  as  Illustrated  in  the  Life  of  Our 
Departed  Brother 

Let  us  see: 

I.  How  God  blessed  him,  and 
II.  How  God  blessed  others  through  him. 

78. 


BLESSINGS    OF    GOD   IN   LIFE    OF   DEPARTED      79 

God  says  in  our  text  to  Abraham  first:  "I  will  bless  thee,'' 
and  then:  "Thou  shalt  be  a  blessing,"  These  two  sentences 
embody  the  two  thoughts  which  should  occupy  our  attention 
today. 

I. 

Our  text  speaks  of  the  call  of  Abraham.  ''Now  the  Lord  had 
said  unto  Abraham,  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy 
kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will 
shew  thee."  It  was  seemingly  a  hard  thing  that  the  Lord  asked  of 
the  patriarch.  He  was  to  break  all  the  ties  of  blood  and  friend- 
ship. He  was  to  turn  his  back  upon  all  the  comforts  and  con- 
veniences of  his  native  land.  He  was  to  go  into  a  strange  land 
not  knowing  what  would  befall  him  there.  But  we  know  that 
this  call  of  Abraham  was  for  his  good,  it  was  a  great  blessing 
to  him  and  his  offspring.  God  had  none  but  the  best  of  inten- 
tions when  he  led  him  westward  into  a  new  country.  God  said: 
''I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation."  And  how  wonderfully 
the  Almighty  fulfilled  this  promise !  Even  in  temporal  things  the 
descendants  of  Abraham  in  Canaan  under  David  and  Solomon 
attained  to  wonderful  greatness. 

Early  in  life  our  brother  was  led  by  the  providence  of  God 
out  of  his  native  land,  away  from  his  friends  and  kindred  into 
what  was  then  to  him  a  strange  land.  Fifty  years  ago  he  landed 
on  the  shores  of  the  new^  world  a  perfect  stranger.  He  brought 
with  him  nothing  but  hands  that  were  willing  to  work  and  a  dis- 
position that  was  not  ashamed  of  honest  toil.  He  set  out  like 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  other  young  Germans  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  the  new  w^orld.  He  was  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land, 
not  knowing  what  the  future  had  in  store  for  him. 

And  how  did  he  fare  in  the  new  world?  America  has  well 
been  called  the  land  of  unlimited  opportunities,  and  here  God 
blessed  our  brother  far  beyond  his  fondest  expectations.    In  all 


80 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


probability,  had  he  remained  in  the  old  world  he  would  have 
eked  out  a  modest  living  and  been  content  to  live  and  labor,  to 
struggle  for  a  mere  existence,  as  his  fathers  before  him  had  done 
for  generations.  But  in  the  new  world  with  its  wonderful  nat- 
ural resources,  its  liberal  social,  industrial  and  political  institu- 
tions, he  rose  to  wealth  and  honor.  By  honest  labor  and  strict 
economy  he  attained  such  financial  standing  as  it  would  never 
have  been  possible  for  him  to  reach  had  he  remained  in  the 
fatherland. 

He  was  far  too  modest  to  attribute  this  financial  success  to 
his  own  efforts.  In  his  estimation  it  was  the  blessing  of  God 
which  rested  upon  his  efforts  that  enabled  him  to  attain  wealth 
and  distinction.  He  believed  in  the  word  of  Solomon :  ' '  The  bless- 
ing of  the  Lord,  it  maketh  rich"  (Prov.  10:  22). 

When  Abraham  entered  Canaan,  Sarah,  his  wife,  accompan- 
ied him;  but  they  had  no  children.  Under  the  blessing  of  God 
the  patriarch  was  enabled  to  see  children  and  children's  children 
in  the  land  of  promise.  So  our  brother  was  blessed  with  the 
comforts  of  a  Christian  home  in  the  new  world.  He  left  behind 
him  in  the  fatherland  father  and  mother,  brothers  and  sisters 
and  landed  on  these  shores  homeless.  But  the  Lord  here  blessed 
him  with  a  new  home,  making  him  the  head  of  a  family.  He 
became  a  happy  husband  and  father.  He  found  a  life  partner 
after  his  own  heart  and  the  new  world  became  to  him  a  second 
fatherland.  God  blessed  him  with  children  and  his  new  home  in 
time  richly  replaced  what  he  left  behind  him  across  the  seas. 
God  was  very  kind  to  the  young  foreigner  and  so  led  him  that 
the  land  of  his  adoption  became  as  dear  to  him  as  that  of  his 
birth.  His  fellow-citizens  appreciated  his  sterling  virtues  and 
he  soon  rose  to  distinction  and  honor  among  them. 

But  all  these  temporal  blessings  are  small  when  compared 
with  what  God  did  for  him  in  spiritual  things.  The  temporal 
blessings  which  God  had  in  store  for  Abraham  were  not  to  be 


BLESSINGS    OF    GOD    IN   LIFE    OF   DEPARTED      gj 

compared  with  the  spiritual  as  expressed  in  the  glorious  prom- 
ise: ''In  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  We 
know  that  this  refers  to  the  Savior  who  should  be  born  out  of 
the  seed  of  Abraham  in  the  promised  land.  And  so  God  had  in 
store  for  our  brother  rich  spiritual  blessings  in  the  new  world. 
He  had  been  baptized  and  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran  church 
of  his  native  land.  The  new  spiritual  life  which  had  been  kin- 
dled in  his  heart  at  baptism  was  nursed  by  the  influences  of  a 
Christian  home.  He  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  attending  a  school 
in  which  the  Gospel  of  Christ  was  made  one  of  the  chief  branches 
of  instruction.  The  schooling  which  he  received  was  permeated 
by  the  principle,  "The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom" (Ps.  Ill:  10).  His  confirmation  was  not  an  empty  cere- 
mony. It  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  his  young  heart.  He 
never  forgot  the  covenant  made  with  the  triune  God.  He  was  a 
Lutheran  Christian  not  only  in  name  but  from  conviction. 

Even  in  the  new  world,  where  so  many  young  men  and  women 
forget  their  early  training  in  the  mad  rush  for  money  and  pleas- 
ure, he  remained  faithful  to  his  baptismal  and  confirmation  vows. 
God  led  him  into  a  community  where  he  found  a  Lutheran  church. 
And  he  soon  made  himself  at  home  in  her  services.  The  pure 
preaching  of  the  Word  of  God  and  the  right  administration  of 
the  sacraments  appealed  to  his  Christian  consciousness.  This  was 
the  church  of  his  fathers,  this  was  his  own  spiritual  mother  and 
he  was  not  slow  to  identify  himself  with  the  local  congregation 
which  confessed  his  faith.  What  a  blessing  it  was  to  a  young 
man  of  his  pious  disposition  that  he  found  a  congregation  of  the 
old  faith  in  the  new  world!  For  nearly  half  a  century  he  en- 
joyed the  administration  of  the  means  of  grace  in  our  congre- 
gation. Here  the  Law  showed  him  his  sins  and  the  Gospel  pointed 
him  the  way  to  obtain  forgiveness.  Here  he  was  warned  against 
all  manner  of  spiritual  dangers  and  encouraged  in  every  Chris- 
tian virtue.    Here  like  a  weary  traveler  in  the  desert  he  could 


32  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

spend  the  Lord's  day  in  the  house  of  God  like  in  an  oasis  with 
its  refreshing  springs  of  life-giving  waters.  Here  the  pious  youth 
found  food  on  which  his  faith  could  grow  and  develop  into 
Christian  manhood.  Yes,  the  Lord  was  surely  kind  and  gracious 
to  our  brother  in  providing  every  advantage  for  the  maintenance 
and  growth  of  his  spiritual  life. 

And  when  old  age  with  its  burdens  and  afflictions  came,  he 
was  not  left  without  the  comfort  of  the  Gospel.  It  was  proclaimed 
to  him  on  his  sick-bed  in  all  its  rich  fulness.  Was  his  soul 
hungry?  Here  was  food  in  plenty.  Did  he  thirst  after  the  w^ater 
of  life?  Here  were  never-failing  springs.  As  the  shadows  of  life 
began  to  lengthen  and  the  evening  of  his  earthly  days  drew  nigh 
his  thoughts  were  more  than  ever  occupied  with  that  eternity 
which  God's  children  look  forward  to  as  a  place  of  eternal  rest 
and  everlasting  joy.  God  blessed  him  with  a  cheerful  hope  of 
the  life  to  come  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  view  of  all 
this  he  could  surely  say  with  the  psalmist :  ' '  The  lines  are  fallen 
unto  me  in  pleasant  places:  yea,  I  have  a  goodly  heritage"  (Ps. 
16:  6). 

II. 

But  when  we  speak  of  our  brother's  life  as  a  life  of  blessing 
let  us  remember  that  God  not  only  blessed  him  but  through  him 
he  also  blessed  others.  God  said  to  Abraham  not  only:  *'I  will 
bless  thee,"  but  he  added:  "And  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing." 
Abraham  was  not  only  to  receive  but  to  transmit  God's  bless- 
ings. He  was  a  blessing  first  of  all  to  his  own  house.  And  so 
was  our  brother.  His  wife  and  children  caught  the  contagion 
of  his  faith.  A  godly  man  is  a  constant  source  of  blessing  to 
those  with  whom  he  lives  under  one  roof.  Every  pious  wife  is 
blessed  by  living  with  such  a  life  partner.  The  Scriptures  say: 
"They  two  shall  be  one  flesh."  What  a  blessing  if  they  are  one 
not  only  in  the  ordinary  interests  of  life  but  one  in  faith  and 


BLESSINGS   OF    GOD    IN   LIFE    OF   DEPARTED      §3 

hope,  one  in  willingness  to  serve  the  Lord,  one  in  readiness 
patiently  to  bear  the  crosses  and  afflictions  of  life.  "Each  for 
the  other  and  both  for  God"  was  the  inscription  on  an  old  wed- 
ding ring.  How  much  easier  it  is  to  carry  the  burdens  of  life 
when  there  are  two  to  lift  the  load ! 

And  what  a  blessing  he  was  to  his  children!  God  used  him 
as  his  instrument  to  provide  for  them  food,  clothing,  and  shelter. 
It  was  through  him  that  God  provided  them  with  a  liberal  edu- 
cation and  enabled  them  to  fill  positions  of  responsibility  among 
their  fellow-men.  Through  him  God  not  only  provided  them 
with  a  good  home  but  sent  them  forth  fully  equipped  to  cope 
with  the  problems  and  battles  of  life.  Yes,  through  him  God  did 
even  more  than  this.  They  enjoyed  not  only  a  comfortable  but  a 
Christian  home.  When  the  day  of  the  Lord  came  the  father  did 
not  say,  ''Go,"  but,  ''Come,"  let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the 
Lord.  He  recognized  the  fact  that  his  children  had  not  only 
bodies  to  feed  and  clothe  but  minds  to  develop  and  souls  to  save. 
He  was  the  spiritual  head  of  his  house,  a  real  priest  in  the  home, 
who  was  not  too  busy  and  not  ashamed  to  lead  his  wife  and 
children  in  prayer  at  the  family  altar.  The  greatest  treasures 
which  he  left  to  his  children  consisted  not  in  houses  and  lands, 
not  in  money,  stocks  and  bonds,  but  in  the  spiritual  wealth  of  a 
pure  faith.  Through  his  example  and  precepts  they  were  placed 
in  a  position  to  lay  up  treasures  in  heaven  "where  neither  moth 
nor  rust  doth  corrupt  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through 
nor  steal"  (Matt.  6:  20). 

But  he  was  a  blessing  not  only  to  his  own  household  but  to 
the  congregation  of  which  he  was  a  member.  We  can  well  say 
that  God  blessed  our  congregation  through  him.  Abraham  was 
a  blessing  to  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  Wherever  he 
pitched  his  tent  he  built  an  altar,  offered  sacrifice  and  called 
upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  (Gen.  12:  8).  Abraham  carried  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  God  and  his  worship  from  place  to  place 


84 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


in  the  course  of  his  wanderings.  He  was  a  blessing  to  every  com- 
munity where  he  dwelt  for  any  length  of  time.  God  blessed  his 
neighbors  through  him.  So  our  departed  brother  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  brethren  in  our  congre- 
gation. He  was  a  liberal  supporter  of  its  work.  He  was  not  only 
anxious  to  enjoy  the  benefits  but  willing  to  share  the  burdens 
which  come  with  membership  in  a  Christian  congregation.  He 
was  ready  to  help  not  only  with  money  but  with  his  council  and 
personal  labor.  Few  attended  the  congregational  meetings  more 
regularly  than  he.  When  elected  to  office  in  the  vestry  he  dis- 
charged his  duty  with  conscientious  care.  In  all  this  he  was  a 
blessing  to  our  congregation.  He  was  a  faithful  friend  and  trusty 
adviser  of  the  pastor,  a  man  who  never  abused  confidence.  At  a 
time  when  the  confessional  standing  of  the  congregation  hung  in 
the  balance  he  stood,  unflinchingly  by  the  truth  and  was  willing 
even  to  endure  abuse  and  hatred  for  the  sake  of  his  Lord  and 
Master.  Yes,  in  those  days  when  feeling  ran  high  and  many  lost 
their  heads  because  they  were  not  firmly  grounded  in  the  faith 
he  stood  like  a  rock  ''steadfast,  immovable,'*  on  the  side  of 
truth  and  justice.  In  those  stormy  days  it  was  a  blessing  to 
have  such  a  man  at  the  helm  of  our  congregation. 

But  he  was  a  blessing  not  only  to  his  household  and  his  con- 
gregation but  to  the  church  at  large.  With  his  ample  means  he 
was  ever  ready  to  encourage  every  good  work.  Our  educational 
and  charitable  institutions  as  well  as  our  missions  were  the  spe- 
cial objects  of  his  liberality.  And  many  a  poor  student  prepar- 
ing for  the  ministry  received  substantial  evidence  of  his  good 
will.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  Synod,  and  was 
one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  our  mission  work  in  this  growing 
metropolis.  Several  of  our  younger  congregations  owe  their  ex- 
istence in  large  measure  to  his  liberality.  To  whom  much  is  given 
from  him  will  much  be  required.  This  principle  he  aimed  to  carry 
out  in  his  support  of  the  general  work  of  the  church.    He  was 


BLESSINGS   OF    GOD   IN   LIFE    OF    DEPARTED      §5 

an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  God  for  the  bestowal  of  blessings. 
Even  the  memory  of  such  men  is  a  blessing  as  the  Scriptures 
say:  "The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed"  (Prov.  10:  7).  In  view 
of  these  facts  let  us  say,  "Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings 
flow,  Praise  him,  all  creatures  here  below,  Praise  him  above,  ye 
heavenly  hosts,  Praise  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost."   Amen. 


WHAT    LIGHTENS    THE    FAREWELL    OP    A    CHRISTIAN 

FATHER  FROM  HIS  LOVED  ONES  IN  THE 

HOUR   OF   DEATH? 

By  Rev.  H.  J.  Schuh 

"Therefore  watch,  and  remember,  that  hy  the  space  of  three  years  I 
ceased  not  to  "warn  every  one  night  and  day  with  tears.  And  now,  breth- 
ren, I  commend  you  to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to 
build  up,  and  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them  which  are  sancti- 
fied."—Acts  20:  31,  32. 

Occasion:  On  the  Death  of  a  Christian  Father 

Mourning  Friends: 

In  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  chapter  13,  the  apostle  writes: 
''For  here  have  we  no  continuous  city  but  we  seek  one  to  come." 
In  the  providence  of  God  we  must  bid  adieu  to  our  best  friends. 
When  we  meet  in  this  world,  we  meet  to  part.  It  is  sad  to  part 
from  good  friends  even  temporarily.  But  we  comfort  ourselves 
on  such  occasions  with  the  thought  that  we  shall  perhaps  soon 
meet  again.  But  how  sad  is  the  parting  when,  at  least  for  this 
world,  there  is  no  such  probability!  For  our  departed  brother 
this  sad  hour  came.  Death  compelled  him  to  bid  adieu  to  friends 
and  family.  The  parting  was  sad,  and  yet  in  spite  of  the  sad- 
ness his  departure  was  cheerful.  That  which  would  have  been 
almost  unendurable  was  made  comparatively  easy  by  the  grace 
of  God.  We  all  look  forward  to  the  hour  of  parting  from  our 
loved  ones.  What  kind  of  a  parting  will  it  be  ?  You  say :  ' '  Oh,  I 
cannot  bear  to  think  of  it."  And  yet  why  should  you  close  your 
eyes  against  that  which  is  inevitable?  You  may  die  or  your 
loved  ones  may  die  any  day.  The  final  leave-taking  may  come 
at  any  hour.   Let  me  show  you : 

86 


WHAT    LIGHTENS    THE    FAREWELL?  §7 

What  Lightens  the  Farewell  of  a  Christian  from  His  Loved 
Ones  in  the  Hour  of  Death? 
It  is: 

I.  The  consciousness  of  having  done  his  duty  toward  them. 
II.  The  assurance  that  God  will  be  with  them,  and 
III.  The  hope  of  meeting  them  again  in  heaven. 

I. 

Our  text  presents  to  us  not  a  death-bed  scene,  and  yet  it 
depicts  a  parting  to  meet  no  more  in  this  world.  It  is  a  part  of 
the  farewell  address  of  St.  Paul  to  the  elders  of  the  congregation 
at  Ephesus.  In  the  25th  verse  of  our  chapter  the  apostle  says: 
*'And  now  behold,  I  know  that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  have  gone 
preaching  the  kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my  face  no  more."  He 
knew  that  he  was  speaking  to  these  people  for  the  last  time. 
This  was  their  last  parting.  It  was  not  the  parting  of  a  father 
from  his  children  after  the  flesh.  But  Paul  was  a  spiritual  father 
to  these  Christians  at  Ephesus  and  loved  them  as  only  a  true 
spiritual  father  could.  And  they  loved  him  as  only  true  children 
can.  On  that  account  when  he  bade  them  farewell  we  read 
(verses  37  and  38)  :  ^'And  they  all  wept  sore,  and  fell  on  Paul's 
neck  and  kissed  him,  sorrowing  most  of  all  for  the  words  which 
he  spake,  that  they  should  see  his  face  no  more."  Paul  was  less 
disturbed  at  this  parting  than  were  his  friends  and  spiritual 
children.  What  was  it  that  made  this  farewell  comparatively 
easy  to  him?   What  cheered  him  in  this  sad  hour? 

We  notice  in  the  first  place  that  he  parts  from  them  with 
the  consciousness  of  having  done  his  duty  toward  them.  In  the 
26th  verse  of  our  chapter  we  read:  "Wherefore  I  take  you  to 
record  this  day,  that  I  am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men,  for  I 
have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all  the  council  of  God." 
And  in  our  text  we  read:  ''Remember  that  by  the  space  of  three 


88 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


years  I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one  night  and  day  with  tears." 
He  had  done  his  duty  towards  them.  There  was  no  occasion  for 
regrets  along  this  line.  He  had  a  good  conscience.  Although  in 
great  weakness  and  with  many  shortcomings  he  had  endeavored 
by  the  grace  of  God  to  be  faithful  to  his  charge.  And  this  con- 
sciousness went  a  great  way  toward  softening  the  pangs  of 
parting. 

The  Christian's  only  real  comfort  in  death  is  the  grace  of  God 
and  the  merits  of  Christ.  His  hope  for  the  forgiveness  of  sins 
and  eternal  life  is  based  not  on  anything  he  has  done  or  left 
undone,  but  solely  on  the  infinite  mercy  of  God  and  the  all- 
sufficient  merit  of  his  Savior.  All  merit  of  his  own  is  excluded 
for  he  knows;  ''Not  by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have 
done  but  according  to  his  mercy  God  saved  us"  (Titus  3:5).  He 
knows  himself  to  be  "justified  freely  by  his  grace  through  the 
redemption  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus"  (Kom.  3:  24). 

And  yet  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  be  able  to  say  on  one's  death 
bed:  I  have  endeavored  to  do  my  duty  toward  my  family.  I 
have  treated  my  wife  not  as  a  slave  but  as  a  helpmeet.  Toward 
my  children  I  endeavored  to  be  not  a  tyrant  but  a  real  father.  I 
have  raised  them  not  as  slaves  to  lust  and  avarice  but  as  children 
of  God.  How  sad  when  a  father  must  say:  I  have  provided  for 
the  bodily  wants  of  my  children,  but  have  starved  their  souls, 
and  this  neglect  can  never  be  replaced;  they  are  lost  for  the 
kingdom  of  God;  their  eternal  salvation  is  forfeited,  and  I  am 
to  blame  for  it ;  I  have  failed  to  do  my  duty  by  them ;  by  my  own 
wicked  example  I  have  led  them  astray  from  the  way  of  life.  O 
how  terrible  must  be  the  parting  of  a  father  from  his  children 
if  in  the  last  solemn  hour  his  conscience  accuses  him  of  such 
neglect ! 

You,  dear  friends,  know  full  well  that  your  father  had  no 
occasion  for  such  self-accusations  on  his  death-bed.  Although  he 
never  made  a  boast  of  his  faithfulness  but  was  fully  aware  of  his 


WHAT    LIGHTENS    THE    FAREWELL?  89 

shortcomings  yet  we  may  truly  say  that  by  the  grace  of  God  he 
endeavored  to  do  his  duty  toward  his  own  household.  His  life 
was  not  a  failure.  In  stewards  we  seek  no  more  than  that  a  man 
be  found  faithful,  and  he  was  faithful  as  you  will  all  bear  him 
witness.  Let  us  thank  God  for  this  and  aim  to  follow  his  example, 
so  that  our  hour  of  departure  may  not  be  rendered  sad  by  the 
consciousness  of  having  failed  to  do  our  duty. 

II. 

A  true  Christian's  farewell  from  his  loved  ones  is  also  light- 
ened by  the  assurance  that  God  will  be  with  them.  St.  Paul  bade 
adieu  to  his  spiritual  children  with  the  consciousness  of  having 
done  his  duty  toward  them.  By  the  grace  of  God  he  had  brought 
them  to  faith  in  Christ.  Like  a  true  father  he  could  rejoice  in 
the  children  whom  God  had  given  him.  But  now  the  hour  of 
parting  had  come.  Henceforth  he  could  no  longer  warn  them 
against  falling  away  from  the  faith,  no  longer  admonish  them 
to  be  steadfast  in  the  Christian  life.  What  would  now  become  of 
his  spiritual  family?  All  the  more  must  he  have  worried  over 
their  future  when  he  thought  of  the  dangers  and  temptations 
which  threatened  the  Ephesians  after  his  departure.  In  the  29th 
verse  of  this  chapter  we  read:  ''For  I  know  this  that  after  my 
departing  shall  grievous  wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing 
the  flock.  Also  of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  per- 
verse things  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them.  This  was  indeed 
a  gloomy  prospect.  His  fatherly  heart  had  reason  to  be  troubled 
at  the  thought  of  their  possible  apostacy  from  the  pure  Gospel. 
Would  they  fall  in  these  awful  temptations  and  render  all  his 
work  and  care  on  their  behalf  vain?  Thoughts  like  these  would 
certainly  serve  to  make  his  farewell  a  sad  one. 

What  was  his  comfort  against  all  such  gloomy  thoughts? 
What  was  there  to  cheer  him  up  against  such  dark  forebodings? 
He  tells  us  in  the  words  of  our  text :  * '  And  now,  brethren,  I 


90  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

commend  you  to  God  and  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able 
to  build  you  up."  This  was  his  comfort:  God  would  be  with  them 
after  his  departure.  His  Word  would  remain  with  them  even 
if  their  spiritual  leader,  teacher  and  father  was  compelled  to 
take  leave.  He  placed  the  future  of  his  loved  ones  in  the  hands 
of  God,  and  this  thought  removed  all  the  load  of  anxious  care. 
With  the  assurance  that  God  would  be  with  them  he  could  bid 
them  a  cheerful  farewell. 

The  anxiety  of  a  father  for  the  future  of  his  family  has  cer- 
tainly caused  many  a  sad  last  farewell.  Who  among  us  has  not 
asked  the  question,  What  will  become  of  my  poor  wife  and 
helpless  children  when  I  am  gone?  Who  shall  care  for  them 
and  be  a  father  to  the  fatherless?  And  this  anxiety  is  not  lim- 
ited to  the  bodily  welfare  of  wife  and  children.  Many  a  Chris- 
tian father  has  worried  over  the  thought  of  leaving  his  chil- 
dren in  a  wicked  world.  It  is  a  cold  and  uncharitable  world,  a 
world  where  thousands  have  made  shipwreck  concerning  faith. 
Many  a  father  has  asked  himself  on  his  death-bed :  Will  my  chil- 
dren do  honor  to  the  good  name  of  my  house?  Will  they  con- 
tinue to  walk  in  the  way  of  life  ?  Will  they  remain  faithful  to  the 
Savior  to  whom  they  were  brought  in  Baptism?  Will  they  keep 
their  confirmation  vow?  Will  my  sons  take  my  place  in  the 
congregation  for  whose  welfare  I  labored  so  diligently?  Ques- 
tions like  these  must  lie  heavy  on  the  heart  of  a  Christian  father 
especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  so  often  after  the  death  of  a 
Christian  father  his  house  literally  seems  to  fall  to  pieces.  In 
view  of  such  dark  forebodings  what  can  serve  to  lighten  the  fare- 
well of  a  Christian  from  his  loved  ones?  Let  him  say  with  St. 
Paul  in  our  text:  ''And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God 
and  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you  up."  When 
the  patriarch  Jacob  came  to  die  he  said  to  his  son:  "Behold  I 
die;  but  God  shall  be  with  you,  and  bring  you  again  unto  the 
land  of  your  fathers"   (Gen.  48:  21).    When  you  come  to  die 


WHAT    LIGHTENS    THE    FAREWELL?  91 

and  think  of  all  the  possible  dangers  which  threaten  your  loved 
ones  after  your  departure  you  can  do  no  better  than  to  com- 
mend them  to  the  loving  hands  of  your  heavenly  Father.  You 
must  die,  but  God  cannot  die.  He  has  promised  to  be  a  father  to 
the  fatherless.  If  you  have  faithfully  done  your  duty  toward 
your  household  while  you  lived,  then  let  God  take  care  of  the 
rest.  "Casting  all  your  cares  upon  him;  for  he  careth  for  you" 
(I  Peter  5:7).  This  also  includes  death-bed  cares.  Even  these 
last  anxious  cares  you  may  cast  on  the  Lord  with  the  blessed 
assurance  that  he  will  provide  for,  defend  and  deliver  your  loved 
ones.  By  so  doing  you  will  lighten  the  farewell  from  your  own 
in  the  hour  of  death.  AVhen  Dr.  Luther  was  once  at  the  point 
of  death  he  called  his  wife  and  little  child  to  his  bedside  and 
when  the  babe  smiled  at  him  he  said:  '^0  thou  dear  child,  now 
I  commend  my  dear  Katie  and  thou  dearest  orphan  to  my  dear, 
pious  and  faithful  God.  You  have  nothing;  but  God  who  is  a 
father  of  the  widow  and  orphan,  will  provide  and  care  for  you. ' ' 

III. 

And  in  the  third  place  the  hope  of  meeting  his  loved  ones  in 
heaven  lightens  the  farewell  of  a  Christian  on  his  death-bed. 
Paul  bade  adieu  to  his  dear  friends  and  spiritual  children  at 
Ephesus  and  was  compelled  to  say:  "I  know  that  ye  all,  among 
whom  I  have  preached  the  kingdom  of  God,  shall  see  my  face 
no  more."  This  then  was  humanly  speaking  the  last  farewell. 
They  parted  never  to  meet  again  in  this  world.  If  on  other 
occasions  he  departed  from  them  to  labor  elsewhere  on  the  great 
harvest  field  of  the  world  he  left  with  the  hope  of  seeing  them 
again,  as  he  frequently  visited  the  congregations  which  he  had 
founded  to  strengthen  them  in  the  faith.  But  this  leave-taking 
was  not  brightened  by  such  a  hope.  He  never  expected  to  meet 
these  Christians  at  Ephesus  again  on  this  side  of  eternity.  The 
Spirit  of  God  had  revealed  to  him  the  fact  that  his  end  was  near 


92 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


at  hand.  He  never  expected  to  return  to  Ephesus.  Is  it  a  won- 
der that  we  read  in  the  last  words  of  our  chapter:  ''And  they 
all  wept  sore,  and  fell  on  Paul's  neck  and  kissed  him.  Sorrow- 
ing worst  of  all  for  the  words  which  he  spake  that  they  should 
see  his  face  no  more."  It  was  a  sad  parting.  Their  tears  were 
evidence  of  real  sorrow.  And  who  would  doubt  that  even  with 
the  apostle  it  was  a  solemn  hour? 

What  it  was  that  lightened  this  sad  parting  we  see  from  his 
own  words:  ''And  now,  brethren,  I  commend  you  to  God  which 
is  able  to  give  you  an  inheritance  among  all  them  that  are  sancti- 
fied." He  thought  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light,  of 
the  glories  of  heaven.  Yes,  they  parted  to  meet  again  before  the 
great  white  throne  above.  He  had  a  joyful  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion: Shall  we  meet  again?  Yes,  surely  in  heaven.  Their  separa- 
tion was  only  temporary.  They  were  all  on  the  road  to  a  blissful 
eternity.  Their  ways  parted  only  for  a  short  time.  In  heaven 
they  would  meet  again. 

Dear  friends,  how  often  your  father  bid  you  good-by.  Every 
morning  when  he  went  to  work,  every  time  when  he  started  on  a 
journey  he  bid  you  farewell.  Such  leave-takings  were  not  espe- 
cially hard;  for  you  felt  sure  he  would  come  again.  Joyfully 
you  greeted  him  when  he  returned  from  work  in  the  evening  or 
when  he  came  back  from  a  journey.  The  children  ran  out  to 
greet  him  with  peals  of  laughter.  But  the  leave-taking  three 
days  ago  was  not  of  this  character.  It  was  unutterably  sad. 
There  was  much  weeping  and  shedding  of  tears.  And  why?  Be- 
cause you  said:  "We  shall  never  see  him  again  in  this  world. 
This  is  the  last  farewell.  His  eyes  are  closed  forever.  The  bond 
that  united  us  is  torn  asunder  for  good." 

Yes,  my  beloved,  if  this  were  literally  true  we  would  all  be 
comfortless  at  this  last  farewell.  But,  thanks  be  to  God,  it  is  not 
literally  true.  Your  father  has  not  departed  that  you  shall  see 
him  no  more.   He  has  only  gone  before  and  you  hope  to  follow 


WHAT    LIGHTENS    THE    FAREWELL?  93 

in  due  time.  He  has  entered  the  blessed  abode  which  is  the  goal 
of  the  pilgrimage  of  all  God's  children.  These  eyes  are  not  closed 
forever  but  only  until  they  open  anew  on  the  resurrection  morn 
to  the  light  of  heaven.  The  glorious  hope  of  a  blessed  reunion  in 
heaven  lightens  our  farewell  from  those  who  die  in  the  Lord. 
Yes,  we  shall  meet  again  and  meet  to  part  no  more.  At  parting 
we  can  cheerfully  sing: 

''God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again, 
By  his  councils  guide,  uphold  you, 
With  his  sheep  securely  fold  you, 
God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again. 

' '  God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again, 
'Neath  his  wings  securely  hide  you, 
Daily  manna  stilj  provide  you, 
God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again. 

''Till  we  meet  at  Jesus'  feet, 

God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again." 

Amen. 


A   JOYOUS    CRY   AT   THE    APPROACH    OF    DEATH 
By  Rev.  W.  E.  Tressel 

**For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at 
hand.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept 
the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day:  and  not  to 
me  only,  hut  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing." — II  Tim.  4:  6-8. 

Occasion :  For  an  Aged  and  Loyal  Christian  Man 

Man  in  his  natural  state  is  afraid  of  death.  And  he  has 
abundant  reason  to  fear  this  king  of  terrors.  A  mystery,  inex- 
plicable to  the  natural  man,  surrounds  the  dead.  The  eye  that 
gleamed  with  intelligence  is  closed;  the  face  that  glowed  with 
health  and  broke  into  smiles  is  pale  and  impassive;  the  hand 
that  reached  out  in  warm  and  friendly  greeting  is  cold  and 
unresponsive.  Whither  has  the  soul  that  once  inhabited  this 
tenement  of  clay  taken  its  flight?  Will  the  grave  swallow  up 
the  body  and  never  surrender  its  prey? 

The  natural  man  has  no  adequate  answer  to  these  questions. 
He  can  only  look  on  death  with  fear  and  trembling.  He  may 
grow  somewhat  bold  and  defiant  with  the  passage  of  the  years; 
wealth  and  education,  social  standing  and  political  influence 
may  lead  him,  in  his  haughtiness  of  spirit,  to  become  seemingly 
indifferent  towards  the  frightful  and  all-engulfing  grave;  but 
he  cannot  banish  all  dread  of  this  hideous  monster.  In  dreams 
of  the  night,  in  hours  of  waking  and  working,  death  stalks  him. 
Fears  are  allayed  for  a  time  only.  Amid  "the  tumult  and  the 
shouting"  of  this  busy  earth,  the  warnings  of  impending  death 
may  not  always  sound  with  equal  distinctness;  but  the  latent 

94 


AJOYOUSCRYATDEATH  95 

fears  will  soon  awaken  to  fresh  activity.  The  death  of  relative  or 
friend,  the  funeral  procession,  the  sight  of  cemetery,  grave  and 
stone,  will  stir  to  life  unpleasant  thoughts  and  dormant  fears. 
And  when  the  unregenerate  man  lays  him  down  to  the  sleep  that 
knows  no  waking  in  this  world-age,  it  is  with  a  shudder  at 
thought  of  what  may  be. 

In  the  state  of  grace  man  does  not  experience  such  torment  of 
fear.  The  grave  has  been  robbed  of  its  victory,  death  has  lost 
its  sting,  the  king  is  shorn  of  his  terrors.  ''The  voice  of  rejoicing 
and  salvation  "has  been  heard  in  the  tabernacles  of  the  right- 
eous." "The  right  hand  of  the  Lord"  hath  done  "valiantly." 
"The  right  hand  of  the  Lord  is  exalted."  "I  shall  not  die,  but 
live,  and  declare  the  works  of  the  Lord,"  is  the  shout  of  the 
regenerate  man. 

The  attitude  of  the  children  of  God  toward  death  was  nobly 
exemplified  in  St.  Paul.  With  every  year  spent  in  the  kingdom 
of  God's  Son,  Christ  Jesus,  he  grew  stronger  in  the  faith  and 
bolder  in  his  confession  of  the  only  name  that  saves.  Advancing 
years  brought  increasing  pains  and  sorrow^s,  persecution  and 
imprisonment;  but  the  greatest  apostle  of  them  all  remained 
undaunted.  We  thrill  as  we  hear,  ringing  down  through  the 
centuries : 

St.  Paul's  Joyous  Cry  at  the  Approach  of  Death 

For  it  is: 

I.  A  Cry  of  Exultation. 
II.  A  Cry  of  Exaltation. 

More  than  ordinarily  earnest  and  impressive  are  the  con- 
tents of  this  chapter.  St.  Paul  urges  his  spiritual  son  to  be  faith- 
ful in  his  ministry.  He  is  to  preach  the  Word;  to  be  instant  in 
season,  out  of  season;  to  reprove,  to  rebuke,  to  exhort  with  all 
long-suffering  and  doctrine.    Timothy  is  warned  to  be  prepared 


96  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

against  the  time  when  men  will  welcome  false  and  self-seeking 
teachers;  when  fables,  rather  than  the  truth,  will  successfully 
appeal  to  them.  "But  watch  thou  in  all  things,"  the  apostle 
continues:  ''Endure  afflictions,  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist, 
make  full  proof  of  thy  ministrj^" 

These  admonitions  are  the  more  enforced  and  impressed  on 
the  young  disciple's  mind  by  St.  Paul's  reference  to  his  ap- 
proaching death:  "For  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered  and  the 
time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand."  Here  is  the  spirit  of  the 
brave  and  stalwart  warrior  who  has  fought  long  and  well  in  the 
holy  cause,  and  who  now  hails  with  gladness  the  rest  from  strife 
and  the  dawn  of  a  cloudless,  glorious,  never-ending  day,  when 
the  garment  of  the  warrior,  no  longer  rolled  in  blood,  shall  be 
stainless  in  the  beautiful  light  which  shines  forth  from  the  Son 
of  Righteousness. 

It  is  a  cry  of  exultation  which  sounds  in  our  ears  as  we  follow 
the  apostle  from  scene  to  scene  which  his  graphic  pen  describes 
for  us.  "I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered,"  he  declares.  Like  a 
drink-offering,  or  libation,  he  is  ready  to  be  poured  out  on  the 
altar,  to  shed  his  life's  blood.  The  nearness  of  death  does  not 
cause  him  to  start  and  shudder.  Foreseeing  that  cruel  death  by 
martyrdom  will  be  his  portion,  he  does  not  shrink  from  the 
ordeal.  No  cry  of  terror  escapes  his  lips:  his  cry  is  a  cry  of 
exultation. 

The  inspired  writer  carries  his  readers,  in  imagination,  from 
the  altar  and  its  sacred  surroundings  to  the  busy  sea-shore. 
Ships  are  entering  and  leaving  the  harbor,  others  are  at  anchor. 
The  apostle's  own  bark  is  about  to  be  loosed  from  its  moorings: 
"the  time  of  my  departure  ('loosing  of  anchor  and  rope')  is  at 
hand."  The  seaman  looks  forward  in  glad  expectancy  to  the 
commencement  of  the  voyage.  The  swelling  sail,  the  foaming 
wave,  the  invigorating  ocean  breezes,  all  summon  him  from  his 
haunts  and  associates  on  shore.    The  apostle  is  full  of  joy  as  he 


AJOYOTJSCRYATDBATH  97 

prepares  to  loose  from  the  shores  of  time  and  set  out  for  the 
eternal  shore.  He  longs  for  this  last  voyage,  ''a  voyage  to  the 
eternal  harbor  of  heavenly  peace."  His  cry  is  not  one  of  sorrow 
and  repining:  it  is  the  cry  of  exultation. 

And  now  the  reader  is  transported  from  the  noise  and  bustle 
of  the  teeming  shore  to  the  roar  and  tumult  of  the  arena.  The 
good  fight  have  I  fought ;  the  race  have  I  finished ;  the  faith  have 
I  kept.  The  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  has  engaged  in  many  a  des- 
perate conflict.  He  has  been  pitted  against  ''wild  beasts."  His 
fighting  has  not  been  in  the  black  livery  of  hell;  he  has  not 
fought  under  the  flag  of  traitor  or  pirate;  he  has  not  done 
obeisance  to  Satan,  the  world,  the  flesh.  He  has  fought  the  good 
fight.  Christ  has  been  his  captain.  He  has  fought  for  the  truth 
and  against  error.  He  has  defended  righteousness  and  has 
assailed  all  wrong  and  wickedness.  He  has  maintained  the  cause 
of  Christ  and  salvation  through  him  alone.  ''The  good  fight  I 
have  fought."   Hear  the  cry  of  exultation! 

"The  race  have  I  finished."  Every  weight  is  laid  aside,  the 
sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us  is  cast  away,  and  before  the 
saints,  that  cloud  of  friendly  and  approving  witnesses,  the  race 
set  before  him  is  run  with  patience.  Paul  says  his  life  has  been  a 
race.  The  course  is  now  about  finished;  he  has  entered  the 
home-stretch,  and  is  still  looking  to  Jesus,  the  Author  and  Fin- 
isher of  his  faith.  He  has  not  fallen  by  the  roadside,  he  has  not 
faltered.  He  has  been  faithful  all  the  way.  "The  course  have  I 
finished."   Do  you  note  the  cry  of  exultation? 

"The  faith  have  I  kept" — once  more  rings  out  the  triumph- 
ant voice  of  the  apostle.  There  is  a  faith  of  the  heart,  with  which 
we  believe,  with  which  Christ  and  his  merits  are  accepted.  This 
faith  the  great  Paul  had  indeed  defended.  But  it  is  not  of  this 
faith  that  he  here  speaks.  There  is  still  another  kind  of  faith: 
the  faith  which  is  believed;  the  body  and  deposit  of  truth;  "that 
good  thing"  which  has  been  committed  to  us  and  which  we  are 


98  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

to  ''keep  by  the  Holy  Ghost"  (II  Tim.  1:  14).  We  read  con- 
cerning this  faith  in  the  letter  of  Jude:  "Contending  earnestly 
for  the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  to  the  saints."  Time  would 
fail  for  the  recounting  of  the  many  occasions  when  Paul  presented 
with  utmost  fidelity  the  faith,  the  truth,  that  saves;  how,  before 
friend  and  foe,  in  the  presence  of  great  and  small,  in  many  climes, 
in  cities,  towns,  and  hamlets,  he  proclaimed  the  Gospel.  As  his 
career  draws  to  a  close,  he  shouts:  ''The  faith  have  I  kept." 
Once  more  rings  forth  the  cry  of  exultation. 

All  this  triumph  proceeds,  not  from  the  lips  of  Paul  the 
Pharisee,  but  from  the  lips  of  Paul  the  Christian.  This  is  no 
carnal  boasting.  It  is  the  same  spiritually  minded  Paul  who 
lamented  his  wretchedness,  Avho  announced  the  universality  of 
sin  and  death,  and  heralded  the  sole  Saviordom  of  Christ.  The 
victor  has  not  fallen  from  the  heights  of  grace  to  the  vile  depths 
of  work  righteousness.  He  hath  done  all  things  through  Christ 
which  strengthened  him. 

"Christ!     I  am  Christ's!  and  let  the  name  suffice  you; 
Aye,  for  me,  too,  he  greatly  hath  sufficed; 
Lo,  with  no  winning  words  I  would  entice  you; 
Paul  has  no  honor  and  no  friend  but  Christ." 

My  dear  friends,  you  today  mourn  the  death  of  a  beloved 
father.  You  should  be  thankful  that  he  was  spared  to  you  through 
so  long  a  period  of  years.  He  had  your  respect  and  affection,  for 
he  was  a  man  of  sterling  character,  of  intellectual  power,  of 
sound  judgment,  of  kindly  and  gracious  disposition.  He  loved 
his  home,  and  beautified  and  glorified  it  not  only  with  the  things 
of  this  life,  but  especially  with  the  treasures,  heavenly  and  eter- 
nal. Though  not  a  minister,  but  a  layman,  our  departed  father 
in  Israel  was  a  staunch  defender  of  the  faith  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 
His  understanding  of  Bible  teaching  was  clear;  his  grasp  of  the 
position  of  our  church  on  the  great  questions  affecting  the  soul's 


A   JOYOUS    CRT   AT    DEATH  99 

welfare  was  intelligent  and  strong.  In  days  of  stress  and  storm 
he  did  not  waver.  When  weaklings  were  prone  to  surrender 
and  to  compromise  the  truth,  he  stood  firm.  He  contended  ear- 
nestly for  the  faith.  His  pastors  found  in  him  a  loyal  friend  and, 
when  days  were  dark,  a  comforter,  and,  when  the  battle  was 
fierce,  a  companion  and  an  ally  of  no  mean  caliber.  We  mourn 
today.  But  our  father  in  Christ  mourns  not.  He  exults.  He  has 
fought  the  good  fight,  he  has  finished  the  course,  he  has  kept  the 
faith.  This  was  his  exultant  cry  when  death  was  near.  This  was 
his  triumphant  shout  as  his  eyes  closed  on  the  scenes  temporal 
and  his  spirit,  loosed  from  its  earthly  moorings,  was  wafted 
to  the  heavenly  shore.  God  grant  you,  his  children,  grace  to 
live  such  a  life  in  Christ,  and  to  die  in  this  same  spirit  of  vic- 
tory. May  we  all  take  courage  from  the  life  and  the  death  of 
this  Christian  father.  Oh,  let  us  not  deny,  but  ever  confess,  the 
truth  as  God  has  revealed  it  in  his  holy  Word  and  taught  it  to 
the  church,  and  let  us  hold  in  unwavering  faith  to  the  Savior  who 
bought  us  with  his  blood  and  made  final  victory  possible  and 
certain. 

The  apostle  turns  from  the  past  to  the  future.  He  would  now 
forget  those  things  which  are  behind  and  reach  forth  unto  those 
things  which  are  before.  He  presses  ''toward  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  things 
which  he  beholds  in  prospect  elate  him,  and  now  we  hear  from 
his  lips: 

A  Cry  of  Exaltation 

In  an  exalted  frame  of  mind,  in  a  spirit  of  utter  joy  and  hope, 
the  hope  that  maketh  not  ashamed,  the  veteran  of  many  spiritual 
conflicts  sends  out  the  word,  ''Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me 
the  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  Judge, 
shall  give  to  me  at  that  day:  and  not  only  to  me,  but  also  to  all 
them  that  have  loved  his  appearing." 


100  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

There  remains  nothing  more  to  be  done  save  the  crowning 
of  the  victor.  The  struggle  is  ended,  the  pain  and  the  suffering 
are  over.  As  he  who  contended  manfully  and  successfully  in  the 
arena  is  crowned  by  the  judges  of  the  contest;  as  he  who  has 
run  his  race  and  won  it  is  borne  in  triumph  by  his  friends  to 
receive  the  coveted  prize — so  the  great  apostle  turns  to  his 
Judge,  from  whose  hand  he  is  to  receive  a  reward  infinitely  more 
precious  than  any  earthly  reward  or  crown  which  could  be  given. 
The  crown  of  righteousness  is  to  be  his  portion.  The  divine  com- 
mand, ''Be  ye  holy,"  is  now  to  be  accomplished  perfectly  in  the 
heart  and  the  life  of  this  much-tried  apostle.  He  who  exclaimed, 
*'0  wretched  man  that  I  am!  who  shall  deliver  me  from  this 
body  of  death"  (Rom.  8 :  24)  ?  now  is  enabled  to  shout  in  jubilant 
tones,  **I  thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,"  and, 
''Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (I  Cor.  15:  27).  The  days  of  sinful  flesh 
are  past,  the  time  of  temptation  is  no  more — in  that  kingdom 
of  glory  to  which  the  apostle  in  exalted  spirit  looks  forward. 
His  crown  of  righteousness  will  not  be  merely  an  imputed  right- 
eousness, the  righteousness  of  Christ  reckoned  to  him  who  in 
faith  accepts  it  (and  who  can  ever  command  eloquence  golden 
enough  to  declare  that  righteousness,  who  can  summon  to  his  aid 
melody  sweet  enough  to  sound  forth  the  praise  of  that  righteous- 
ness?); but  his  righteousness  will  be  that  of  a  heart  pure  and 
undefiled,  an  intellect  delivered  from  the  beclouding  and  de- 
grading power  of  sin,  a  conscience  void  of  all  offence.  He  will 
then  be  transformed,  and  will  have  renewing  of  mind  in  full 
perfection.  0  glorious  hour!  0  unspeakably  blessed  days  and 
years  and  ages  when  sin  shall  be  for  him  no  more ! 

It  is  true  that  not  by  human  might,  nor  by  his  own  endeavor 
has  the  apostle  earned  the  crown  of  righteousness.  It  is  a  free 
gift,  earned  by  Christ,  and  now  bestowed  by  him.  The  apostle 
still  clings  to  the  dear  old  truth,  "By  grace  are  ye  saved  through 


AJOYOUSCRYATDEATH  101 

faith;  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God'*  (Eph. 
2:8).  On  the  borderland  between  two  worlds,  St.  Paul  finds  com- 
fort in  Christ  and  in  him  alone.  Yes,  it  is  this  very  Christ  from 
whose  hand  the  apostle  will  receive  his  crown.  He  who  died  to 
win  salvation  is  the  man  whom  God  has  appointed  to  distribute 
final  rewards  and  punishments.  He,  even  the  Lord  Jesus,  who 
*' shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels,"  will 
appear  as  the  righteous  Judge.  His  judgment  is  infallible.  There- 
fore, when  the  crown  is  placed  on  the  victorious  apostle's  brow, 
no  hand  dare  remove  that  emblem  of  triumph.  Surely,  Paul  had 
ample  reason,  in  view  of  the  Judge's  gracious  and  irreversible  de- 
cision and  in  prospect  of  the  golden  crown  of  righteousness,  to 
cry  out  in  the  spirit  of  exaltation. 

''A  great  additional  source  of  joy  to  Paul"  is  exhibited  in 
the  following  words:  "And  not  to  me  only."  The  victor  is  not 
afflicted  with  selfishness,  nor  is  he  inflated  with  thoughts  of  him- 
self as  are  so  many  who  have  triumphed  in  the  field  of  battle 
or  in  the  arena  of  scientific  controversy.  ''To  all  them  that  have 
loved  his  appearing"  will  a  crown  be  given.  How  often  Paul  had 
urged  his  pupils  and  his  readers  in  general  to  look  ''for  that 
blessed  hope  and  the  glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God  and 
our  Savior  Jesus  Christ"  (Titus  2:  13).  All  who  heeded  this 
injunction,  all  whose  habit  of  life  it  was  to  look  forward  in  faith 
and  hope  to  the  consummation  of  all  things,  would  be  associated 
with  this  unselfish  apostle  in  the  glories  of  "that  day."  The  cry 
of  exaltation  is  heard  in  these  sentences  of  St.  Paul.  The  vener- 
able man,  the  bruised  and  scarred  warrior  is  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy 
because  of  those  heavenly  treasures  which  are  soon  to  be  his  ever- 
lasting possession,  and  which  the  saints  in  glory  will  share  with 
him. 

Beloved,  you  know  how  your  father  longed  for  the  home 
above.  He  prayed  that  he  might  be  delivered  from  the  burdens 
and  the  cares  of  time.   He  asked  that  he  might  soon  enjoy  that 


102  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

rest  which  remaineth  unto  the  people  of  God.  In  prospect  of 
joys  which  have  no  end,  in  certain  hope  that  the  crown  of  right- 
eousness would  soon  be  his,  he  was  uplifted  in  spirit,  and  his 
words  as  death  drew  near  were  a  cry  of  exaltation.  Ah,  my 
friends,  have  you  caught  from  his  ''joyance  the  surprise  of  joy"? 
Though  sorrowing  this  day  and  hour,  are  you  still  happy  in  the 
thought  that  your  father  has  gone  home  to  God,  and  are  you 
happy  in  the  conviction  that  you  are  following  your  father  in 
the  way  which  can  bring  only  exaltation  of  spirit  ?  I  have  reason 
to  believe  and  to  hope  this  of  you.  God  grant  you  his  grace,  for 
Christ's  sake,  that  you  may  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith  and  in 
the  end  receive  the  crown  of  righteousness,  the  salvation  of  your 
souls. 

We  stand,  in  imagination,  on  the  great  shore  laved  by  the 
waters  of  eternity.  A  frail  bark  looses  from  its  moorings.  The 
sails  fill  with  the  favoring  breeze.  The  vessel  sets  forth  on  its 
outbound  voyage,  and  soon  is  speeding  towards  the  heavenly 
goal.  At  the  bow  stands  the  mariner,  anxiously  looking  for  signs 
of  yonder  world.  And  now  he  beholds  what  seems  to  be  a  cross.* 
As  he  draws  nearer  and  nearer  to  his  destination,  he  sees  no 
longer  a  cross,  but  the  blessed  Savior  himself,  with  arms  out- 
stretched in  welcome.  The  bark  grates  upon  the  shore.  The 
voyager  leaps  from  his  frail  craft  and  prostrates  himself  on  the 
eternal  sands  before  his  Judge  and  Savior.  And  as,  in  exultant 
voice  and  spirit  of  exaltation,  the  prostrate  one  exclaims,  "I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,"  the  Savior  places  on  his  brow  a 
golden  crown  and  in  tones  of  incomparable  sweetness  says: 
''Servant  of  God,  well  done;  well  hast  thou  fought  the  better 
fight."   Amen. 


*  Conclusion  suggested  by  a  large  and  beautiful  floral  cross  given  by  the 
children  of  the  deceased  and  placed  on  the  altar  during  the  funeral  service. 


WHAT  MAKES  THE  CHRISTIAN  WILLING  TO  DEPART? 

By  Rev.  L.  H.  Schuh,  Ph.  D. 

"For  I  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  two,  having  a  desire  to  depart  and  to  "be 
with  Christ;   which  is  far  better." — Philippians  1:  23. 

Occasion:  The  Death  of  an  Elderly  Pastor 

Brethren  of  the  Ministry,  Members  of  this  Congregation,  and 
especially  mourning  Family: 

What  many  of  us  have  feared  for  the  last  two  months  has 
come  to  pass.  Our  brother  and  fellov^-laborer  has  been  called 
out  of  time  to  his  reward.  I  say,  we  feared  this,  because  many 
of  us  loved  him,  were  united  with  him  by  bonds  of  affection 
and  we  dreaded  the  pain  that  comes  from  separation.  We  did 
not  fear  this  separation  for  his  sake,  because  he  prayed  much 
to  be  relieved  and  was  ready  and  prepared  for  the  end.  We 
feared  it  for  our  sakes.  It  may  have  been  a  selfish  fear,  but  it 
was  there.  It  would  have  been  better  to  have  asked  God  to  give 
us  resignation  to  his  will  and  to  have  taken  the  saints  made 
perfect  and  the  holy  angels  for  our  example;  for  they  do  the 
will  of  God  gladly  and  cheerfully. 

Now  we  are  gathered  here  to  give  this  brother  a  Christian 
burial,  to  speak  words  of  comfort  to  bleeding  hearts,  to  help 
these  friends  to  submit  their  wills  to  God,  to  thank  the  Lord 
for  all  the  mercy  and  truth  that  he  has  shown  the  departed,  and 
to  admonish  all  to  faithfulness  unto  the  end.  Even  in  our  afflic- 
tion and  amid  tears,  though  emotion  choke  the  voice  and  aroused 
feelings  strive  for  mastery,  we  are  going  to  lift  up  our  hearts 
to  the  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift  and  say:  ''Father, 

103 


IQ^  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

thy  will  be  done.  We  thank  thee."  And  even  while  we  say  it 
there  steals  into  our  hearts  gratitude  and  trust  and  resignation. 

Those  who  stood  nearest  our  brother  during  the  last  months 
noticed  that  he  was  possessed  of  but  one  feeling,  which  devel- 
oped into  a  longing.  He  seemed  to  have  a  premonition  that  the 
end  was  at  hand.  Why  should  a  Christian  not  have  it ;  why  should 
the  Spirit  of  God  not  commune  with  the  believing  soul  and 
mature  this  thought  within  him  and  so  reveal  the  approach  of 
the  end  ?  But  in  spite  of  all  the  encouragement  that  was  given  by 
a  devoted  wife  and  children  he  seemed  unable  to  banish  from 
his  mind  this  thought  and  that  probably  because  it  was  born 
of  God.  Repeatedly  he  expressed  his  willingness  to  go  and  made 
his  preparation  for  it.  He  felt  that  his  work  was  done,  that  he 
would  be  better  off  to  be  at  rest. 

God  has  made  us  with  a  love  for  life.  We  cling  to  it  most 
tenaciously.  This  is  especially  the  case  in  life's  early  stages. 
Ordinarily  a  child  of  God  wishes  to  live  and  to  glorify  God  by  a 
life  of  service.  Frequently  to  desire  to  die  is  sinful,  because 
it  is  born  of  a  rebellious,  impatient  heart.  But  there  may  be  cir- 
cumstances that  ripen  within  us  the  desire  to  depart.  You  have 
an  example  to  prove  this  statement  in  so  exemplary  a  Christian 
as  St.  Paul.   We  ask  the  question: 

What  Makfes  the  Christian  Willing  to  Depart? 

I.  The  Cross:  At  the  time  that  the  apostle,  Paul,  wrote  the 
words  of  this  text  he  was  a  prisoner  in  a  Roman  prison.  The 
last  years  of  his  life  are  full  of  adventure  and  hardship.  There 
was  scarcely  a  hardship  to  which  he  was  not  exposed.  He  seems 
to  have  had  a  premonition  that  his  end  was  rapidly  approaching 
and  he  expresses  his  willingness  to  go.  He  knew  that  he  would 
experience  a  great  relief  if  he  went  from  battle  to  victory.  The 
cross  aroused  in  him  such  a  longing. 


WHAT  MAKES  THE  CHRISTIAN  WILLING?      IQS 

Our  departed  brother  bore  the  ills  that  are  common  to  all 
men.  The  race  is  under  the  curse  of  sin  and  on  some  individuals 
it  rests  more  heavily  than  on  others.  No  matter  how  fortunate 
man's  lot  may  be,  he  is  in  a  world  of  sin  and  the  relation  be- 
tween himself  and  God  is  disturbed.  Fix  it  as  we  will,  we  cannot 
escape  the  toil  for  bread  and  the  care  that  goes  with  the  rearing 
of  families  and  the  trials  that  necessarily  go  with  our  callings. 
During  the  last  four  years  our  brother  was  a  man  in  broken 
health  and  at  times  suffered  severely.  The  disease  that  took  him 
off  must  have  preyed  on  him  a  long  time. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  when  a  man  approaches  the  period 
of  natural  decline  and  in  addition  is  a  constant  sufferer  that 
weak,  human  nature  cries  for  relief  and  that  he  is  ready  to 
depart  ? 

Brother  S bore  the  crosses  that  go  with  Christian  life. 

There  are  the  constant  struggles  with  self,  the  battle  with  sin 
in  the  heart.  "What  makes  the  struggle  without  so  hard  to  resist 
is  the  weakness  within.  Read  the  epistles  of  Paul  if  you  want 
an  accurate  description  of  the  battle  that  rages  within  the  heart. 
No  man  is  a  Christian  who  has  not  experienced  it.  So  long  as 
the  Spirit  is  present  the  battle  rages.  By  its  ferocity  the  degree 
of  grace  is  determined.  If  you  are  a  child  of  God,  review  your 
own  experiences.  Recall  the  temptations  of  Satan,  his  lies,  his 
cunning,  his  flattery,  his  trickery.  Then  recall  the  pleadings  of 
the  Spirit,  his  warnings,  his  chidings,  his  instructions.  The  one 
has  impelled  you  to  sin;  the  other  has  restrained  you,  while  you 
have  been  like  a  football  tossed  hither  and  thither.  How  often 
when  the  battle  was  hottest,  you  have  been  just  ready  to  give 
up  and  but  for  the  sustaining  hand  of  God,  you  would  have 
succumbed.   What  a  relief  it  will  be  when  the  battle  is  over! 

Disabuse  your  mind  of  the  thought  that  a  minister  has  no 
such  a  battle  to  pass  through  and  to  renew  every  day.  Do  not 
believe  that  a  minister  has  no  besetting  sin,  no  weakness  out  of 


106 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


which  Satan  makes  capital,  that  he  does  not  here  and  there  slip 
and  fall  and  that  he  is  not  often  thoroughly  ashamed  of  the  poor 
fight  that  he  has  put  up.  Do  not  think  that  a  preacher  is  built 
on  different  lines  from  other  Christians.  He  has  the  same  struggle 
with  his  temper,  his  tongue,  his  hand,  his  eyes  and  his  heart  that 
other  Christians  have.  Do  not  believe  that  a  preacher  has  no 
dark  hours,  no  periods  of  gloom  and  even  despondency,  no  hor- 
rible thoughts  and  Satanic  suggestions.  Just  because  he  is  a 
preacher,  these  temptations  are  all  intensified.  Satan  would 
rather  vanquish  the  captain  than  a  private.  What  rejoicing 
among  the  wicked  when  a  preacher  slips !  And  how  far-reaching 
the  effects  when  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  side-steps ! 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  a  serious-minded  Christian  will  occa- 
sionally sigh:  '*0  God,  relieve  me  from  this  endless  struggle, 
and  give  me  the  final  victory  over  my  and  thine  enemies ! ' ' 

The  departed  bore  the  crosses  and  afflictions  that  go  with  his 
calling.  It  was  his  lot  to  be  a  preacher.  For  forty  years  he  stood 
in  the  pulpit  and  if  you  will  go  and  ask  the  people  whom  he 
served:  "What  was  the  central  thought  of  all  his  preaching  and 
teaching?"  I  make  bold  to  assert  that  to  a  man  they  will  say: 
''He  held  up  the  cross  and  on  it  we  saw  our  crucified  Lord."  He 
did  not  stand  in  front  of  the  cross  that  his  shadow  might  fall 
upon  the  Lord,  it  was  not  his  person  that  was  to  be  prominent; 
but  modestly  he  stood  behind  the  cross  where  its  shadow  fell  on 
him.  While  many  preachers  find  the  cross  of  Christ  a  tame,  and 
even  a  threadbare  subject,  not  he.  He  knew  that  the  supreme 
desire  of  a  repentant  sinner  is  forgiveness,  and  he  also  knew 
that  nothing  gives  forgiveness,  but  the  blood  of  Christ.  Happy  the 
preacher  whose  heart  has  been  cleansed  by  it  and  to  whose  soul 
it  has  become  the  highest  treasure ! 

But  the  man  that  preaches  the  cross  of  Christ  with  all  that  it 
implies,  will  find  out  that  he  must  bear  it.  In  every  community 
the  man  who  stands  unflinchingly  for  righteousness,  will  stir 


WHAT  MAKES  THE  CHRISTIAN  WILLING?      IQT 

up  Satan  and  his  adherents.  Preaching  Christ  implies  a  clear 
testimony  against  sin  and  an  earnest  admonition  to  a  holy  life. 
Let  your  message  be  saturated  with  these  ideas,  that  sin  is  an 
offence  to  God,  that  he  will  punish  it,  that  repentance  implies  a 
rejection  of  sin  and  the  new  life  and  bear  the  message  that  is 
personal,  searching,  incisive  and  let  us  see  whether  there  is  not 
plenty  of  opposition.  Woe  to  that  preacher  who  sends  the  sin- 
ner home  from  church  at  ease  with  his  life  and  satisfied  with  his 
course!  When  God  calls  him  to  an  account  how  will  he  stand! 
But  the  man  who  arouses  the  sinner  from  his  condition,  must 
expect  that  if  he  drags  a  soul  out  of  the  kingdom  of  darkness 
Satan  will  retaliate. 

I  think  that  I  speak  truth  when  I  say  that  in  any  given 
community  no  man  has  so  many  friends  and  no  man  has  so  many 
enemies  as  the  Christian  minister.  No  man  is  loved  more  than 
he,  and  no  man  is  hated  worse.  No  man  is  more  highly  respected 
and  no  man  is  more  thoroughly  despised  than  he.  Of  no  man  does 
the  community  speak  more  kindly,  but  no  man  is  more  censured 
and  defamed  than  the  preacher.  Some  love  to  belittle  his  person 
and  his  Avork  by  telling  jokes  about  him  and  poking  fun  at  him; 
but  no  man  is  more  desired  on  serious  occasions  and  exerts  a 
profounder  influence  on  community  life  than  he. 

It  is  true  that  some  of  the  crosses  which  the  preacher  bears 
he  prepares  for  himself.  We  are  only  human  and  make  mistakes, 
but  they  are  of  the  intellect  rather  than  of  the  heart.  No  matter 
how  well  intentioned  the  pastor  is  he  may  err  and  sometimes 
seriously.  This  often  gives  rise  to  misunderstandings  and  soon 
to  persecutions.  Sometimes  in  moral  c[uestions  the  pastor  may 
lack  tact  and  a  molehill  may  grow  into  a  mountain.  But  no  mat- 
ter how  careful  and  tactful  the  pastor  may  be,  let  us  not  forget 
that  the  work  is  done  in  opposition  to  the  devil  and  when  you 
strike  at  him,  he  strikes  back.  There  are  sometimes  treacherous, 
malicious  members  in  the  congregation  who  take  advantage  of  a 


108 


FUNEEAL    SERMONS 


minister's  weakness  and  magnify  his  faults.  So  the  minister  as 
much  if  not  more  than  the  members  is  a  cross  bearer. 

Brethren  of  the  ministry,  have  you  never  said  in  an  hour  of 
weakness:  ''0  God,  why  hast  thou  led  me  into  this  calling  and 
into  the  midst  of  these  people?"  And  when  the  waters  of  tribu- 
lation threatened  to  engulf  you,  have  you  never  said:  '^0  Lord, 
it  is  enough;  I  am  ready  to  depart." 

Yes,  the  cross  makes  a  Christian  ready  to  depart. 

II.  The  Crown:  St.  Paul,  the  writer  of  this  text,  looked  for- 
ward to  the  crown.  He  reviews  his  life.  Casting  a  sweeping  look 
backward  he  says:  "I  have  fought  the  good  fight  of  faith,  I  have 
finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith."  And  then  turning 
toward  the  future  he  sees  the  crown:  ''Henceforth  there  is  laid 
up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord,  the  right- 
eous judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day."  It  is  this  that  gives  him 
hope  and  that  softens  the  terrors  of  death. 

This  crown  came  to  our  Lord.  His  whole  life  was  not  spent 
in  the  state  of  humiliation,  but  this  being  ended  and  the  work 
of  that  state  being  accomplished,  he  passed  into  the  state  of 
exaltation  and  is  now  crowned  with  everlasting  glory.  His  life 
was  not  made  up  entirely  of  suffering  and  persecution  and  con- 
fiict  and  death.  He  did  not  forever  lay  aside  the  use  of  his  divine 
power  and  majesty.  He  did  this  for  a  season,  that  he  might  pay 
the  penalty  of  sin.  But  when  that  was  accomplished  he  unceas- 
ingly exercises  his  divine  majesty  and  now  sits  at  the  right  hand 
of  God.  It  was  the  prospect  of  this  glory  that  cheered  him.  When 
death  stared  him  in  the  face,  he  looked  beyond  the  grave  to  his 
resurrection  and  found  support.  It  was  the  assurance  of  victory 
that  gave  him  courage  to  enter  the  conflict. 

It  was  he  who  said:  "Where  I  am  there  shall  my  disciples  be 
also."  The  members  belong  to  the  head  and  go  with  it  to  shame 
or  glory.   The  soldier  goes  with  his  general  both  to  battle  and  to 


WHAT  MAKES  THE  CHRISTIAN  WILLING?      109 

triumph ;  and  out  on  the  battlefield,  amid  shot  and  shell,  it  is  the 
prospect  of  victory  that  gives  courage. 

The  crown  was  always  the  symbol  of  victory  and  honor.  In 
times  past  it  was  placed  on  the  brow  of  the  conqueror,  the  ath- 
lete, the  poet,  the  warrior,  or  on  any  one  who  had  rendered  a 
service  of  distinction.  Frequently  among  these  ancients  it  was 
only  a  wreath  of  laurel  that  w^ould  fade  away,  but  it  was  desired 
for  what  it  represented.  It  was  the  sign  of  the  recognition  of 
distinguished  service  by  the  people  and  no  price  was  too  great 
to  give  in  exchange  for  it.  It  gratified  the  natural  craving  of 
the  human  heart.  It  was  for  this  crown  that  the  victor  had 
trained  for  and  for  it  he  had  lived.  No  sacrifice  was  too  great,  no 
exercise  too  strenuous,  no  demand  too  severe  to  gain  the  crown. 
And  when  it  came,  so  great  was  the  joy  that  sometimes  fathers 
fell  dead  from  excitement  when  their  sons  were  so  honored; 
and  sons  immortalized  their  own  and  the  names  of  their  families 
when  they  were  so  crowned. 

There  will  be  a  special  lustre  about  the  crown  of  the  preacher. 
' '  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament 
and  they  that  have  led  many  unto  righteousness,  as  the  stars 
forever  and  ever."  ''He  that  soweth  bountifully,  shall  reap  boun- 
tifully." Ours  it  not  a  calling  that  is  highly  esteemed  by  the 
world;  but  it  is  the  most  glorious  of  all  callings  because  it  is 
concerned  about  souls.  There  is  an  abundant  reward  for  that 
man  who  points  souls  heavenward.  In  this  life  the  greatest  re- 
ward of  our  work  is  the  gratitude  of  a  rescued  soul.  What  will 
it  be  on  the  other  side!  Suppose  that  some  soul  shall  meet  you 
as  you  enter  heaven  and  shall  lead  you  down  the  golden  street 
up  to  the  throne  and  shall  say:  "Father,  this  is  the  man  who 
taught  me  the  way  of  life.  I  am  here  because  he  was  a  faithful 
servant  of  thine.  Add  luster  to  his  crown."  That  will  call  forth 
the  shout  of  the  redeemed  and  the  swelling  anthem  of  the  saved. 


110 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


God  has  not  told  us  much  about  the  crown,  nor  the  life  to 
come.  It  is  enough  for  us  to  know  that  it  exists  and  that  it 
awaits  us.  In  this  present  state  if  it  were  revealed  in  all  its 
fulness,  no  doubt,  we  could  not  grasp  it  anyway  and  if  we  could 
see  it,  its  glory  would  blind  us.  Yes,  here  and  there  a  ray  of 
light  falls  upon  us  from  that  better  world,  but  it  is  just  a  glint 
of  light  that  comes  through  a  chink  in  the  wall  that  separates 
time  from  eternity.  Sometimes  these  revelations  are  given  us  in 
figures  of  speech  to  stoop  to  our  weakness  because  we  could  not 
grasp  the  literal  statement.  But  Paul  here  gives  us  a  revelation 
that  is  literal,  that  we  can  understand  and  that  is  all  that  we 
need.  He  says:  "I  will  be  with  my  Lord."  That's  all  that  I  want. 
I  do  not  care  where  heaven  is,  nor  what  I  will  do  there.  I  want 
to  be  with  Jesus  and  I  know  that  if  it  comes  to  pass,  I  will  be 
happy.  All  my  longings,  aspirations  and  hopes  will  be  fulfilled. 
If  I  can  be  made  like  him  in  holiness  and  righteousness,  if  I  can 
strip  off  this  garment  of  sin  and  put  on  the  robe  of  perfection, 
that  will  be  heaven  for  me.  If  I  can  live  in  his  presence  and 
like  Moses,  look  upon  his  face  and  absorb  his  glory  till  I  shine, 
that  will  be  heaven  for  me. 

Brethren  of  the  ministry,  be  faithful;  there  awaits  you  a 
crown.  Bear,  endure,  suffer,  but  do  not  retreat:  for  ''I  reckon 
that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed  in  us."  And  when 
you  contemplate  the  crown,  the  prompting  of  the  Spirit  will 
say:  "Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly." 

The  old  and  faithful  parishioners  of  our  departed  brother 
have  sent  in  this  beautiful  floral  tribute.  It  answers  the  ques- 
tion: ''What  makes  a  Christian  ready  to  depart?"  "With  mute 
lips  and  with  silence  that  is  more  eloquent  than  speech  it  an- 
swers: "The  Cross  and  CroAvn."  Let  us  hope  that  our  brother 
now  wears  the  crown.    Amen. 


OUR   DEPARTURE 
By  Rev.  M.  K.  Hartmann 

"Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace  according  to  thy 
word:  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation,  which  thou  hast  prepared 
before  the  face  of  all  people." — Luke  2:  29-30. 

Occasion:  A  Sermon  to  the  Old 

This  text  belongs  to  the  old.  Its  message  of  joy  and  cheer 
is  very  acceptable  to  them.  The  young  too  may  find  consolation 
here;  but  especially  the  old.  Our  hearts  beat  for  the  old.  They 
have  been  with  us  so  long.  Their  departure  is  near  at  hand.  Our 
tears  and  our  prayers  are  with  them,  our  tears  because  we  are 
sorry  to  see  them  go,  our  prayers,  we  wish  them  God's  peace 
on  their  last  long  journey. 

Life  is  a  gift.  Life  is  a  blessing.  Undeniably  so,  if  lived  ac- 
cording to  the  precepts  of  God  and  faith  in  Jesus.  Such  a  life 
after  all  is  the  only  life  well  worth  living.  And  such  a  life 
Simeon  lived.  Turn  to  the  Sacred  Book,  read  what  the  evangelist 
says  about  him:  ''And  behold,  there  was  a  man  in  Jerusalem, 
whose  name  was  Simeon;  and  the  same  was  just  and  devout, 
waiting  for  the  consolation  of  Israel:  and  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
upon  him."   What  a  testimony  to  this  man's  life  and  character! 

We  can  never  grow  weary  of  reading  the  beautiful  story  of 
Simeon's  meeting  with  the  child  Jesus  in  the  temple.  Led  by 
the  Spirit  the  old  man  wends  his  way  once  more  to  the  temple 
of  God.  His  mind  ever  retains  in  firm  grasp  the  promise  of  the 
Holy  Spirit:  that  he  should  not  die,  before  he  had  seen  "The 
Hope  of  Israel."   He  firmly  believes  the  promise.    In  the  temple 

111 


J^;|^2  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

Simeon  finds  the  child,  Jesus,  joyfully  he  takes  it  in  his  arms, 
holds  it  aloft  and  pours  out  his  soul  to  God.  And  this  is  the 
burden  of  his  song;  ''Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart 
in  peace,  according  to  thy  word:  For  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy 
salvation,  which  thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of  all  people. 
A  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  thy  people 
Israel." 

Let  us,  at  this  hour,  center  our  thoughts  about  our  departure. 
We  are  about  to  lower  into  the  bosom  of  Mother  Earth  one  who 
has  labored  faithfully  for  many  years  in  the  vineyard  of  the 
Lord.  Peace  is  now  his  reward,  by  the  grace  of  God.  But  what 
about  our  departure?  The  manner  of  our  departure;  this  is 
the  most  momentous  question  that  faces  us.  It  is  important  for 
us  that  we  get  along  in  this  life,  that  we  get  through  it  success- 
fully; but  far  more  important  to  us,  is  the  manner  of  our  de- 
parture, how  we  get  out  of  this  life. 

I.  Depart  in  peace:  Let  our  departure  be  in  peace,  in  peace 
with  our  fellow-men  if  possible,  in  peace  with  ourselves,  but 
above  all  in  peace  with  our  God.  The  Christian  longs  for  peace, 
strives  for  peace,  finds  it  in  life  and  retains  it  in  death.  Death 
is  but  a  sleep  and  then  the  blessed  awakening  in  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Simeon  departed  in  peace,  be  assured  of  that,  my  friend. 
He  was  ready,  he  was  prepared  for  the  day,  it  should  not  come 
upon  him  unawares.  What  a  lesson  for  us  all.  Be  ready,  be  pre- 
pared. God  was  with  Simeon  before  that  eventful  hour,  in  the 
temple  where  he  found  the  Messiah.  God  heard  his  prayer. 
Simeon  did  not  fear.  The  evening  shadows,  proclaiming  the 
night,  descend  upon  him,  death  draws  near.  Simeon  bows  his 
head,  for  God  is  with  him.  The  Lord  is  his  sun  and  shield.  He 
will  not  fail  him,  but  will  guide  him  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death.  To  die — your  conscience  at  rest  and  God  with 
you — is  bliss.  Without,  the  tempest  rages;  the  breakers  roar, 
the  panther  cries ;  within,  all  is  quiet,  peace  9,nd  rest.  But  to  die 


OUR    DEPARTURE  113 

with  a  forlorn  hope,  to  die  with  a  stricken  conscience,  to  die  in 
enmity  with  God:  fatal  end!  indescribable  woe!  Or  to  die,  a 
disciple  of  those  who  say,  ''Eat,  drink  and  be  merry,"  God- 
forgotten,  God-ignored — eternal  death!  Do  not  be  deceived,  the 
world  may  offer  you  peace,  beware  of  her  peace.  She  has  no 
peace  to  give.  Only  in  Christ  Jesus  can  you  find  peace. 

To  depart  in  peace  you  must  lay  hold  of  the  cross.  Believe 
in  the  atoning  power  of  the  blood  of  Jesus.  Confess  your  sins, 
strive  for  better  things,  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Master, 
and  serve  God  in  fear  and  love.  Paul  departed  in  peace,  because 
he  had  fought  the  good  fight,  finished  the  course  and  kept  the 
faith.  Death  has  no  terror  for  the  Christian,  the  thought  of  judg- 
ment no  dread.  ''Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea,  but  that  thy 
blood  was  shed  for  me     ...     I  come,  I  come." 

II.  Heaven  our  desire:  Peace  and  heaven  go  hand  in  hand. 
Heaven  is  the  blessed  land  of  peace,  perfect  peace  reigns  there; 
peace,  and  joy  unconfined. 

The  old  must  die.  All  laws  point  that  way.  The  young,  how- 
ever, are  not  immune.  "So  teach  us,  to  number  our  days;  that 
we  may  apply  our  heart  unto  wisdom."  But  life,  in  this  world, 
means  something  to  us  all,  even  to  the  old.  Life  here  has  also 
a  kingdom  for  the  old  and  faithful :  the  sun  still  shines  for  them ; 
the  flowers  are  still  for  them;  hope  never  dying  is  strong  within 
them;  faith  victorious  in  many  trials  buoys  their  spirit  up.  And 
borne  on  the  wings  of  that  faith,  the  Christian  is  ever  content 
with  his  lot.  But  the  future  is  calling,  the  land  beyond  rises 
before  them.  "Heaven  is  my  home."  Like  Simeon's  the  heart 
is  full  of  longing  and  expectation.  Like  St.  Paul  we  say:  "For 
.  .  .  .  having  a  desire  to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Christ; 
which  is  far  better." 

In  death  all  ties  that  hold  us  to  the  earth  are  broken.  Tender, 
loving  ties  must  then  break.  Sometimes  we  dread  the  day  and 
occasion  when  these  ties  must  be  severed,  and  when  we  must  go, 


114 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


we  may  be  tempted  somewhat  to  linger.  But  let  nothing  tempt 
us  and  put  us  in  an  unwilling  state  of  mind.  Let  us  rather  hail 
the  day  with  joy.  At  death  all  loving  ties  are  broken.  He  who 
will  not  deny  himself,  take  up  the  cross  and  follow  Jesus  and  who 
lives  for  this  world  alone,  who  is  a  servant  of  mammon,  such  a 
one  is  not  willing  and  desirous  to  depart.  And  we  do  not  wonder 
at  this.  Life  after  death  means  in  this  instance  so  little.  God's 
loving  call  to  the  Promised  Land  has  fallen  upon  deaf  ears.  But 
the  Christian  feels  otherwise.  He  too  loves  and  with  a  purer 
heart  the  good  things  in  this  life.  But  nothing  in  all  the  world, 
not  even  those  dearest  to  him,  can  quench  the  flame  of  desire 
to  depart.  Like  Simeon  of  old  he  is  waiting  for  the  day  when  he 
''shall  see  him  face  to  face." 

HI.  Be  strong  in  faith:  Faith  is  indispensable.  All  the  vic- 
tories we  have  won,  have  been  won  by  the  grace  of  God,  through 
faith.  "And  this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even 
our  faith."  And  so  shall  in  time  the  last  enemy  be  overcome. 
In  death,  by  faith,  we  shall  conquer  death.  Simeon  was  not 
afraid  to  die.  He  was  ready  and  willing  to  meet  the  great  issues 
of  life  and  death,  he  knew  but  one  result:  that  he  should  be 
returned  victor.  Faith  in  whom?  In  yourself,  in  arm  of  man,  in 
human  power?  No!  Such  a  faith  means  defeat.  He  who  is  so 
minded  builds  his  house  upon  the  sand.  "And  the  rain  descended, 
and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that 
house ;  and  it  fell :  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it. ' ' 

Believe  in  God,  believe  in  Jesus.  The  Lord  alone  can  help  and 
save  us.  How  noble  Simeon's  faith!  Holding  in  his  arms  the 
little  child,  he  praises  God  for  the  coming  of  the  Savior  of  the 
world,  the  Savior  of  all  the  world,  the  Light  of  all  the  Gentiles 
— so  Simeon  sees  him.  What  reason  did  he  have  for  his  judg- 
ment of  Jesus?  "He  sees  in  this  child  no  royal  form  nor  dis- 
play, but  a  form  like  that  of  a  poor  beggar,"  and  yet  he  elevates 
this  child  to  the  proud  distinction  of  being  the  Savior  of  the 


OUR    DEPARTURE  115 

world.  Again  we  ask,  What  reason  did  he  have  for  his  judg- 
ment of  Jesus  ?  The  answer  must  be :  Faith,  faith  in  God,  faith 
in  Jesus.  Enlightened  by  the  Spirit,  Simeon  believes  what  God's 
words  and  promises  declare.  He  believes  in  Jesus  as  his  only 
Savior  from  sin,  death  and  the  power  of  the  devil.  Happy  the 
man  who  can  thus  believe:  he  shall  be  saved.  ''For  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
The  manner  of  our  departure  depends  upon  our  relationship  to 
Jesus,  God's  Son.  If  we  believe  in  him  as  our  Savior  and  our 
King  and  put  our  lives  in  God's  hand  all  will  be  well. 
IV.  Confess  the  Lord : 

' '  Thee,  God,  we  praise,  thy  name  we  bless, 
Thee,  Lord  of  all,  we  do  confess; 
The  whole  creation  worships  thee, 
The  Father  of  eternity. '^ 

Simeon,  with  his  heart  attuned  to  song  and  a  song  upon  his 
lips,  confesses  the  name  of  the  Lord.  All  God's  children  confess 
him.  It  is  the  Lord's  will,  it  is  his  desire  that  we  confess  his 
holy  name.  And  what  child  of  God  can  refrain  from  glorifying 
him?  What  heart  full  of  love  toward  the  heavenly  Father  can 
remain  mute  and  dumb  in  his  presence  ?  Mary,  Elizabeth  praised 
him ;  the  aged  Anna  praises  him ;  in  the  old  covenant,  in  the  new 
covenant,  thousands  and  thousands  have  glorified  and  confessed 
the  Lord  God  Almighty. 

The  Christian  is  the  recipient  of  countless  blessings;  let  us 
not  forget  that.  God  is  the  Good  Giver,  from  him  all  blessings 
flow.  Let  us  thank  him  for  his  goodness  and  mercy,  let  us  confess 
him,  his  majesty,  his  power  and  glory.  And  as  the  years  come 
and  go  for  us,  let  our  confession  become  stronger  and  stronger. 
And  when  the  night  draws  near,  and  we  must  bid  the  world  fare- 
well, let  us  sing  once  more — our  last  song  on  earth — to  the  Re- 


116  FUNERAL    SEEMONS 

deemer's  praise.  Such  a  song  signifies  a  grateful  heart,  and  indi- 
cates a  believing  soul.  Confess  the  Lord  at  all  times.  "Bless  the 
Lord,  0  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  his  benefits,  .  .  .  who 
redeemeth  thy  life  from  destruction;  who  crowneth  thee  with 
lovingkindness  and  tender  mercies ;  who  satisfieth  thy  mouth  with 
good  things;  so  that  thy  youth  is  renewed  like  the  eagle's." 
We  have  every  reason  to  confess  the  Lord.  Be  a  witness  unto  his 
mighty  acts,  proclaim  the  sweet  Gospel  of  God's  love,  sing  of 
him  who  is  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life.  Confess  the  Lord 
in  the  hour  of  death.  The  martyrs  of  old  went  to  a  cruel  death, 
but  they  died  with  the  name  of  Jesus  on  their  lips.  Our  brother, 
whose  mortal  remains  lie  here  before  us,  went  to  his  death  con- 
fessing the  Lord.  The  goodness  of  a  gracious  God  had  been  re- 
vealed to  him,  and  he  in  turn  must  confess  him.  But  it  is  the 
Lord's  work.  He  opens  the  eye  that  we  may  see  him.  He  loosens 
the  tongue  that  we  may  praise  him,  and  confess  his  name. 

But  what  about  our  departure?  What  manner  of  departure 
shall  it  be?  This  great,  vital  question  looms  up  before  us.  What 
shall  the  answer  be?  We  must  decide  for  ourselves  and  decide 
quickly.  Come,  Holy  Spirit,  with  light  divine,  enlighten  us,  that 
we  may  choose  rightly,  and  lay  hold  on  the  crown  of  life.  God 
grant  it,  for  Jesus'  sake.   Amen. 


RIPENING    FOR    GOD'S    GARNER 

By  Rev.  0.  K.  Solberg 

"Thou  Shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age,  like  as  a  shock  of  com 
Cometh  in  in  his  season." — Joh  5:  26. 

Occasion :  For  an  Elderly  Woman 

Life  at  the  longest  is  brief.  How  fleet  and  uncertain!  ''What 
is  life?"  asks  the  apostle,  and  he  answers:  "It  is  even  a  vapor, 
that  appeareth  for  a  time,  and  then  vanisheth  away"  (James 
4:16). 

Death  makes  no  distinction  of  age.  It  takes  life  in  the  bud 
of  childhood  and  in  the  bloom  of  youth,  as  well  as  in  the  ripe- 
ness of  old  age.  Beautifully  does  Longfellow  express  this  when 
he  says: 

"There  is  a  Reaper,  whose  name  is  Death, 
And  with  his  sickle  keen 
He  reaps  the  bearded  grain  at  a  breath, 
And  the  flowers  that  grow  between.** 

And  in  God's  estimation  the  little  child  may  be  as  much  a 
shock  of  ripe  grain  out  of  his  field  as  the  weary  and  worn  pil- 
grim of  old  age.  When  he  gathers  in  his  harvest,  the  grain  is 
ripe,  whether  he  takes  the  babe  or  the  aged  person.  To  him 
"one  day  is  as  a  thousand  years  and  a  thousand  years  as  one 
day"  (II  Peter  3:8).  As  Moses  says  in  the  ninetieth  Psalm: 
''For  a  thousand  years  in  thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when 
it  is  past,  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night." 

But  how  especially  fitting  is  the  figure  of  the  ripe  corn,  when 
we  apply  it  to  the  remains  of  the  aged !   There  lies  the  cold  form 

117 


118  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

with  the  many  deep  wrinkles  of  face  and  the  head  crowned  with 
the  snow-white  or  silvery  gray  hair,  reminding  us  of  the  shock 
of  ripe  corn  that  has  been  cut  down  at  harvest  time. 

Doubly  true  and  beautiful  is  the  figure  of  our  text  in  its 
application,  when  we  are  gathered  at  the  casket  of  a  dear  old 
saint,  as  we  are  today.  Not  only  did  she  ''die  in  the  Lord,"  but 
she  lived  her  long  life  ''in  the  Lord."  Through  a  long  Christian 
life  she  ripened  for  the  Garner  of  God  and  she  goes  to  her  grave 
"in  full  age  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  his  season." 

In  infancy  she  was  planted  by  Baptism  into  the  fertile  soil 
of  God's  kingdom.  In  childhood  she  received  the  daily  impres- 
sion of  God's  sanctifying  grace  through  the  prayer,  instruction 
and  example  of  Christian  parents.  Thus  under  the  sunshine  and 
rain  of  God's  grace,  the  bud  unfolded  into  the  bloom  of  youth. 
However,  for  a  few  years  after  her  confirmation,  she  became 
neglectful  and  careless  in  her  spiritual  life,  but  never  wilfully 
surrendered  herself  to  the  worldly  life  that  so  much  influenced 
her  young  heart.  At  the  age  of  twenty  she  passed  through  a 
spiritual  awakening  and  gave  herself  up  to  a  more  intimate  fel- 
lowship with  her  Savior  and  a  deeper  consecration  of  service. 
Ever  since  she  has  enjoyed  a  life-long  assurance  that  she  was  a 
child  of  God.  At  the  same  time  she  realized  through  the  years 
more  and  more  her  own  weakness  and  unworthiness  and  her  utter 
dependence  upon  the  Lord,  and  rested  implicitly  upon  the  prom- 
ises of  God,  knowing  that  his  grace  through  Christ  Jesus  would 
save  and  keep  her  to  the  end.  In  Word  and  Sacrament  she  pray- 
erfully sought  and  found  strength  to  persevere  in  her  fight  of 
faith;  and  in  humble,  faithful  service  she  endeavored  to  use  her 
God-given  talents  and  time.  Thus  she  matured  and  persevered 
in  a  long  and  beautiful  life  of  consecrated  Christian  womanhood. 
She  reached  the  ripe  old  age  of  ninety.  When  she  realized  that 
her  life  was  coming  to  a  close,  she  rejoiced  in  her  hope  of  eternal 
rest  and  reward  through  Christ  Jesus.  As  she  lay  there  waiting 


RIPENING    FOR    GOD'S    GARNER  Hg 

to  be  called  to  her  heavenly  home,  some  of  the  last  words  she 
uttered  were  these:  "I  am  lying  here  thinking  so  clearly  of 
heaven."  A  few  minutes  after  without  any  pangs  of  pain  she 
fell  "asleep  in  Jesus."  Her  soul  left  the  house  of  clay  and  entered 
into  the  rest  which  is  in  store  for  the  people  of  God.  The  shock 
of  ripe  corn  was  gathered  into  God's  garner.  Kept  by  the  grace 
of  God  through  the  springtime  of  life,  she  passed  safely  through 
life's  lovely  summer  season,  bore  the  acceptable  fruits  of  faith 
unto  the  autumn  of  life,  and  then  chilling  wintry  blasts  of  death 
took  her  life,  and  we  shall  soon  lay  the  cold  form  to  rest  under 
the  sod,  where  it  shall  rest  till  the  dawn  of  Resurrection  Day, 
when  she  shall  rise  to  new  life  and  eternal  summer.  How  beauti- 
ful is  old  age  under  such  circumstances !  Beautiful  in  life !  She 
walked  with  God.  Most  beautiful  in  death !  God  took  her  home. 
The  weary  pilgrim  rests.  "Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is 
the  death  of  his  saints"  (Ps.  116:  15). 

And  what  a  cheering  and  staying  comfort  to  those  who  sur- 
vive !  Parting  in  death  with  our  loved  ones  is  always  painful. 
But  when  our  departed  dead  go  to  be  with  God,  the  pangs  of 
parting  are  removed  by  the  blessed  assurance  that  they  are 
sweetly  resting  in  the  heavenly  home,  and  we  retain  that  sweet 
hope  of  eternal  reunion  that  awaits  us  beyond  death  and  grave. 

The  aged  brother  and  sister,  who  survive  this  sainted  sister, 
will  greatly  miss  her.  But  may  the  sacred  memories  and  the 
sweet,  parting  words  she  left  you,  be  a  lasting  comfort  to  you. 
And  may  her  Savior  continue  to  be  yours.  Soon  shall  come  the 
day  of  eternal  reunion. 

We  do  not  only  wish  to  talk  about  the  dead,  although  it  is 
comforting  and  pleasant  to  perform  this  task  in  the  case  before  us 
today.  It  is  not  always  thus  when  we  gather  about  the  remains 
of  the  dead.  These  services  are  rather  for  the  living  than  for  the 
dead.  Our  departed  sister  has  gone  beyond  the  reach  and  the 
need  of  our  assistance.  But  we  are  here  to  continue  our  pilgrim- 


120  FUNERAL   SERMONS 

age,  to  fight  our  battles,  to  win  our  victories.  We  need  the  les- 
sons of  this  solemn  occasion.  And  the  Lord  has  a  vital  message 
to  the  living  in  this  hour,  not  only  a  word  of  comfort  to  the 
bereaved  relatives,  but  an  important  admonition  to  all  who  have 
gathered  here  today. 

Friends,  remember,  our  harvest-time  is  coming  when  the 
Reaper  of  Death  will  be  sent  to  us.  We  are  daily  ripening  for 
eternity.  Are  we  ripening  for  heaven?  Are  we  ready,  should 
death  suddenly  summon  us?  As  the  corn  must  receive  rain,  sun, 
light  and  fresh  air  from  time  it  is  planted  in  fertile  soil  in  spring 
until  the  fall  season,  when  it  stands  there  with  the  ripe,  golden 
corn  in  the  dry  husk — a  finished  product,  so  must  we  day  by  day 
continue  to  live  in  union  with  Christ,  take  freely  into  our  souls 
the  Bread  of  Life  as  it  comes  to  us  in  Word  and  Sacrament,  bask 
in  the  sunlight  of  God's  love,  breathe  the  air  of  his  life-giving 
and  life-sustaining  Spirit,  and  quench  our  thirst  from  the  "Foun- 
tain filled  with  blood,  drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins,"  and  thus 
growing  in  the  soil  of  God's  grace  and  deeply  rooted  by  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus,  we  increase  in  faith  and  love,  mature  in  our  spir- 
itual life  and  bring  forth  the  fruits  of  faith  in  faithful  Christian 
service.  Then  and  only  then  are  we  ready  to  be  cut  down  by  the 
sickle  of  death  and  have  our  soul,  like  a  sheaf  of  ripe  grain,  car- 
ried by  the  angels  into  God's  garner  above.  We  shall  not  be 
taken  unawares,  whether  we  are  taken  in  the  prime  of  life  or 
when  full  of  years.  We  shall  be  in  position  to  welcome  the  grim 
messenger  of  death  with  a  greeting  of  triumph.  Even  if,  like 
Paul,  we  shall  be  cut  down  in  the  midst  of  our  busy  activities, 
like  Paul  we  shall  also  realize  that  our  life-work  is  finished  and 
be  able  to  say  with  him:  "I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered  and  the 
time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I 
have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth  there 
is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day"   (II  Tim.  4:  6-8). 


RIPENING    FOR    GOD'S    GARNER  121 

''But  thanks  be  unto  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  (I  Cor.  15:  57). 

Often  death  may  seem  to  come  out  of  season — before  one's 
life-work  seems  finished,  or  even  before  it  has  been  entered  upon 
and  we  say:  "What  an  untimely  death!"  But  it  only  appears 
untimely  or  unseasonable  to  us.  God  never  harvests  out  of  sea- 
son. "When  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately  he  putteth 
in  the  sickle,  because  the  harvest  is  come"  (Mark  4:  29).  God's 
grain  is  always  taken  in  "full  age,"  whether  it  be  an  infant,  a 
youth,  or  an  aged  person.  His  ways  are  not  our  ways. 

Young  friend,  your  harvest-time  may  soon  be  here.  Are  you 
ready  ?  Are  you  living  the  life  that  counts  for  good  in  this  world 
and  that  has  promise  of  reward  in  the  next?  It  is  not  merely  a 
question  of  being  ready  for  the  sickle,  so  as  to  be  gathered  unto 
God's  garner,  when  we  are  cut  down.  But  it  is  of  first  import- 
ance to  live  the  life  that  glorifies  God  and  benefits  man.  It  must 
be  a  life  of  self -surrender  in  the  fellowship  with  Jesus.  Then  you 
will  be  ripening  for  heaven  and  always  ready  for  the  harvest. 

My  aged  friend,  what  kind  of  a  life  have  you  been  living  all 
these  years  of  grace?  Can  it  be  possible  that  you  are  still  living 
a  selfish  and  sinful  life,  still  a  stranger  to  the  mercy  of  God  in 
Christ?  If  so,  you  too  are  ripening,  but  for  what?  Shall  I  say  it? 
Ripening  for  hell!  A  terrible  ripening!  A  dreadful  harvest! 
To  stand  at  the  end  of  a  wasted  life  with  all  hopes  blasted  and 
compelled  to  say:  "The  harvest  is  past,  the  summer  is  ended, 
and  we  are  not  saved"  (Jer.  8:  20).  The  patient  Lord  again  calls 
you  today  to  repent  of  your  sins,  turn  to  him  and  cry  for  mercy. 
He  loves  you  still  and  is  willing  to  save. 

It  is  dreadful  to  grow  old  in  sin  and  ripen  for  hell.  A  long 
life  in  that  case,  is  a  twofold  cause :  it  is  a  curse  to  all  who  come 
under  the  evil  influence  of  such  a  life;  and  it  is  an  everlasting 
curse  to  that  lost  soul  itself.  Sad  and  hopeless  to  stand  at  the 
grave  of  such  ones. 


122  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

What  a  contrast  is  this  occasion!  This  is  an  occasion  for  re- 
joicing and  thanksgiving  as  we  think  of  this  sainted  sister  and 
her  glorious  gain  in  death.  And  let  it  be  to  all  of  us  a  mighty- 
call  to  reconsecrate  ourselves  to  a  full  and  faithful  life  in  the 
fellowship  and  footsteps  of  Jesus.  Now  that  our  sister  has  won 
such  a  glorious  victory,  let  there  be  joy  among  us. 

There  is  joy  in  heaven  among  the  angels  over  this  ingathering. 
There  should  be  joy  and  praise  on  earth  among  God's  people. 
Rejoice,  brother  and  sister,  over  the  home-going  of  your  dear 
one.  There  she  now  awaits  you.  Let  it  be  your  daily  prayer  and 
endeavor  to  meet  her  there. 

Rejoice,  believing  relatives  and  friends,  over  the  victory  she 
has  won.    Let  heaven  be  your  goal. 

Rejoice,  Bethlehem  congregation,  over  the  triumphal  entry 
this  faithful  member  has  made  into  the  church  triumphant.  Let 
it  be  your  sole  and  supreme  aim  and  effort  under  God's  guidance 
and  blessing  to  help  all  your  members  live  the  Christ-life,  so 
that  when  they  are  summoned  by  death,  they  may  be  transferred 
from  your  membership  to  the  church  celestial. 

Her  departure  is  a  glorious  gain.  What  a  gain  to  her!  To 
inherit  the  kingdom,  to  be  crowned  in  glory,  to  see  her  Savior  face 
to  face  and  to  sing  his  praises  forever!  It  is  a  gain  to  you, 
brother  and  sister,  in  its  deep  and  sweet  sense.  Oh,  what  greater 
good  could  you  wish  your  beloved  sister,  than  to  know  that  she 
is  with  God  1  It  makes  you  richer  and  happier  to  have  her  there 
than  if  she  were  here.  It  is  a  gain  to  this  church  to  have  one 
more  of  its  members  transferred.  And  heaven  has  gained  another 
sainted  sinner.  God  help  us  all  to  live  the  life  that  is  hid  with 
God  in  Christ !  Then  friends,  whether  we  live  to  the  ripe  old  age 
of  ninety,  or  die  young,  we  shall  come  to  our  grave  **in  a  full 
age  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  his  season."  The  harvesters  of 
heaven,  the  angels,  shall  carry  us  like  precious  sheaves  into  the 
garner  of  God.    May  we  all  realize  this  by  the  grace  of  God.   Amen. 


THE  CHRISTIAN'S  COMFORT  IN  THE  HOUR   OF   DEATH 
By  Rev.  L.  H.  Schuh,  Ph.  D. 

"Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will 
fear  no  evil;  for  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  they  comfort 
me." — Ps.  23:  4. 

Occasion:  Sudden  Death  of  an  Elderly  Christian  Man 

Members  and  Friends  of  our  Congregation  and  of  this  mourn- 
ing Family: 

The  announcement,  ''M B is  dead,"   came  to  this 

community  and  our  congregation  like  a  flash  of  lightning  from 
a  clear  sky.  Last  Sunday  morning,  still  in  good  health,  he  at- 
tended the  services  in  this  house.  It  was  his  custom  to  be  here 
and  to  confess  Christ  with  us  and  edify  his  soul.  On  Monday 
evening  the  first  announcement  of  the  end  was  made.  God  in 
mercy  did  not  cut  him  off  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  ''Cut  me 
not  off  in  the  midst  of  my  days,"  was  a  prayer  that  was  ful- 
filled here.  But  yet  what  a  striking  illustration  that  in  the  midst 
of  life  we  are  in  death.  There  was  one  day  of  preparation 
vouchsafed.  WliiU^  it  was  apparent  that  the  death-angel  would 
claim  him,  his  reason  was  imclouded,  and  he  called  for  the  Holy 
Sacrament  and  the  prayers  of  the  church.  Then  the  end  came. 
To  each  man,  woman,  and  child  present  here  today,  there  comes 
the  same  message  that  was  announced  to  King  Hezekiah:  ''Set 
thine  house  in  order  for  thou  shalt  die  and  not  live." 

We  do  not  advocate  the  theory  that  leads  a  man  in  health 
to  buy  his  coffin  and  to  keep  it  by  him  in  his  house  and  to  fill  up 
all  his  waking  hours  with  visions  of  the  shroud,  the  bier  and  the 

123 


124  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

grave.  If  that  is  piety  at  all,  it  is  morbid,  to  say  the  least.  We 
would  rather  urge  upon  you  to  think  of  living  and  to  glorify 
God  by  a  life  of  service.  The  desire  to  die  in  most  instances  is 
sinful  and  has  its  root  in  an  unwillingness  to  bear  the  crosses  laid 
upon  us  by  the  Lord,  or  in  despair  of  God's  providence.  The  Crea- 
tor made  us  to  live  and  the  desire  is  deep-seated.  It  comes  from 
our  nature ;  we  cannot  help  clinging  to  life. 

But  do  not  rush  to  the  other  extreme  and  crowd  out  of  your 
thoughts  every  suggestion  of  death,  so  that  the  final  summons 
may  find  you  wholly  unprepared.  While  earthly  things  are 
uncertain,  there  are  at  least  two  certainties:  *'It  is  appointed  to 
man  once  to  die  and  after  that  the  Judgment."  This  was  the 
prayer  sent  up  by  Moses  in  the  ninetieth  Psalm:  ''So  teach  us  to 
number  our  days  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom." 
We  are  sure  of  death  and  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  prepare 
for  it. 

The  idea  of  passing  into  death  is  not  pleasant  to  our  nature. 
We  naturally  shrink  from  it  since  the  supreme  desire  of  man  and 
of  all  other  living  creatures  is  for  life.  We  need  something  to 
fortify  us  against  that  hour.  In  view  of  our  approaching  end 
and  of  our  need  of  support,  let  us  ask  the  question ; 

What  Comforts  the  Christian  in  the  Hour  of  Death? 

I.  The  Assurance  that  Death  cannot  harm  him:  "I  will  fear  no 
evil."  Death  has  the  same  sources  as  all  other  evil.  It  is  one 
of  the  world's  greatest  evils.  We  have  a  natural  dread  of  it,  but 
the  Christian  to  a  large  extent  loses  this  dread.  He  needs  not 
fear  it  because  it  has  been  robbed  of  its  power. 

The  psalmist  does  not  say:  ''The  valley  of  death,"  but,  "The 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death."  It  has  been  reduced  to  a  shadow. 
This  may  frighten  a  man,  but  it  cannot  harm  him.  Because  a 
Christian  knows  this,  he  "walks"  through  this  valley.   A  terror- 


COMPORT  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH      125 

stricken  man  takes  to  his  heels,  while  the  man  who  is  confident 
that  there  is  no  danger  walks  along  leisurely. 

St.  Paul  holds  out  the  same  consolation:  *'0  death,  where  is 
thy  sting?"  A  viper  may  hiss;  but  if  robbed  of  its  fangs,  it 
cannot  bite.  It  may  look  like  the  same  viper  and  hiss  as  it  did 
before,  but  it  cannot  harm.  When  a  bee  stings  a  man,  it  usually 
loses  its  sting;  it  can  still  buzz  like  a  bee;  it  still  looks  like  a 
bee,  but  it  cannot  sting  again.  The  shadow  of  a  lion  may  frighten 
but  it  cannot  devour.  The  shadow  of  a  sword  may  alarm,  but 
it  cannot  injure.  The  shadow  of  a  thief  may  alarm,  but  it  cannot 
kill.   While  death  is  dreadful  to  the  flesh,  it  cannot  harm. 

Jesus  has  robbed  death  of  its  power.  He  says:  "I  am  the  res- 
urrection and  the  life. ' '  He  came  unto  the  world  to  undo  sin  and 
all  its  consequences.  Death  is  the  direct  result  of  sin.  It  was 
unknown  until  man  disobeyed.  On  the  cross  the  Savior  said:  ''It 
is  finished."  The  debt  of  sin  was  paid  and  the  final  proof  is  his 
resurrrection.  He  came  forth  as  the  Conqueror.  Into  him  death 
thrust  his  poisoned  fangs  and  he  left  them  there.  Now  death  is 
harmless.  In  death  the  Christian  walks  into  a  passage ;  it  is  dark, 
it  is  forbidding,  it  chills;  but  it  opens  into  eternal  light,  and  he 
comes  out  unharmed.  Look  to  the  empty  grave  and  if  death  did 
not  harm  your  Lord,  it  will  not  harm  you. 

Jesus  triumphed  over  death  not  only  in  his  own  person  but 
in  others.  He  raised  Jairus'  daughter.  He  conquered  at  the  gates 
of  Nain.  He  vanquished  the  foe  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus.  And  at 
his  own  death  many  that  slept  in  their  graves  came  forth  and 
appeared  in  the  Holy  City.  If  he  could  do  that  for  others,  he 
can  do  it  for  the  departed.  And  he  gives  the  promise  that  he  will. 

Jesus  ''became  the  first  fruit  of  them  that  slept."  In  the  Old 
Testament  when  the  harvest  was  ripe  one  sheaf  was  cut  and 
taken  into  the  temple  and  waved  before  the  Lord.  It  was  an  act 
of  consecration.  This  one  sheaf  was  a  representative  of  the  whole 
harvest.    The  act  signified  that  as  this  one  sheaf  was  presented 


226  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

unto  the  Lord,  so  the  whole  harvest  was  his.  There  was  more  to 
follow.  A  thing  can  be  first  only  in  reference  to  the  second.  If 
there  is  no  second  or  third,  there  can  be  no  first.  If  Christ  was 
''the  first  fruit"  there  must  necessarily  be  those  who  follow  and 
our  resurrection  is  assured  by  virtue  of  his.  If  we  are  to  arise 
and  come  back  in  a  glorified  state,  then  death  cannot  harm  us. 

It  is  self-evident  that  the  unbelieving  world  finds  no  comfort 
in  this  revelation  of  the  Scriptures.  For  if  there  is  a  resurrection, 
then  there  is  a  life  to  come;  there  is  a  judgment;  there  is  a  re- 
ward both  for  the  believer  and  the  unbeliever ;  there  is  a  heaven 
and  a  hell;  there  will  be  the  chidings  of  an  accusing  conscience 
and  the  memory  of  neglected  opportunities,  of  abused  powers  and 
senses,  outraged  warnings,  of  misled  companions,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth.  As  a  timid,  frightened 
lad  whistles  in  the  dark  for  his  own  encouragement,  so  the  world 
laughs  and  mocks  at  the  resurrection.  But  they  shall  see  him 
whom  they  have  pierced. 

For  this  reason  the  unbeliever  goes  into  the  dark  valley  quak- 
ing. His  teeth  chatter;  his  knees  tremble;  his  frame  quakes.  He 
goes  to  meet  the  king  of  terrors.  He  cannot  deny  the  existence 
of  death  and  his  exit  from  the  world  is  at  best  a  leap  into  the 
dark.  * 

But  the  Christian  goes  down  into  the  valley  comforted.  This 
does  not  necessarily  imply  an  easy  death,  for  he  may  pass  away 
with  excruciating  misery.  The  temporal  effects  of  sin  may  be 
just  as  great  to  him  as  to  the  unbeliever.  But  the  eternal  effects 
are  wiped  away  and  his  spirit  has  hope. 

The  departed  brother  had  this  hope.  He  expressed  it.  He 
clung  to  it  in  life  and  in  death.  And  as  we  lay  him  to  rest  we  do 
so  believing  that  death  did  not  harm  him. 

In  the  hour  of  death  the  Christian  has 

II.  The  Assurance  that  God  is  with  him:  ''For  thou  art  with 
me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff,  they  comfort  me." 


COMFORT  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH      127 

When  a  man  is  hungry,  he  seeks  food.  When  he  is  thirsty,  he 
finds  drink.  When  he  is  weary,  he  longs  for  rest.  When  he  is 
suffering  he  wants  relief.  When  he  is  bereft,  he  needs  friends  and 
sympathy.  When  he  is  at  death's  door,  he  must  have  comfort  to 
give  him  courage.  The  psalmist  finds  this  comfort  in  the  pres- 
ence of  God  at  his  dying  bed. 

There  is  something  in  our  nature  which  shrinks  from  solitude. 
God  has  made  us  for  companionship"  and  society,  and  being  de- 
prived of  them  we  are  not  in  our  normal  state  and  consequently 
unhappy.  How  much  less  fearful  the  dark  night  is  with  but  one 
companion!  How  much  less  dreary  and  wearisome  a  long  road 
is  with  but  one  wayfarer !  How  empty  the  house  is  when  we  are 
in  it  alone;  how  just  one  fellow-being  seems  to  fill  it  up  and  to 
take  away  what  haunts  us!  The  presence  of  a  dog,  a  cat,  or  a 
bird  is  a  relief!  In  that  journey  to  the  other  side  not  even  our 
friends  can  accompany  us,  though  they  might  be  willing.  More 
than  one  parent  and  friend  has  said  at  the  grave;  ''Oh,  that  I 
might  accompany  you!"  But  the  traveler  to  that  bourne  starts 
alone.  Alone,  did  I  say?  Yes,  so  far  as  men  are  concerned,  and 
yet  not  alone.  "Thou  are  with  me."  God,  unseen  to  human  eyes, 
is  there  to  support  the  dying.  "When  thou  passest  through  the 
waters,  I  will  be  with  thee;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall 
not  overflow  thee:  when  thou  walkest  through  the  fire,  thou 
shalt  not  be  burned,  neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  upon  thee. 
For  I  am  the  Lord,  thy  God,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  thy  Savior. ' ' 

God  is  with  the  dying  by  his  gracious  indwelling.  He  is  an 
omnipresent  spirit  and  there  is  no  place  where  he  is  not.  He  is 
everywhere  by  his  creative  presence,  even  in  the  heart  of  an  unbe- 
liever; but  he  is  with  the  dying  Christian  in  a  still  different  sense. 
There  is  a  sense  in  which  God  is  not  everywhere ;  but  only  in  the 
heart  of  a  believer.  "Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him:  If  a  man 
love  me,  he  will  keep  my  words;  and  my  Father  will  love  him, 
and  we  will  come  unto  him  and  make  our  abode  with  him." 


128 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


Then  there  is  a  sense  in  which  God  is  not  everywhere,  for  he 
cannot  come  where  he  already  is.  In  a  gracious  way  God  is  only 
where  he  is  loved.   There  he  dwells. 

You  have  experienced  his  presence.  You  have  felt  his  near- 
ness, you  have  been  aware  of  the  Unseen  Guest  in  your  heart.  You 
have  felt  his  warnings  and  pleadings,  his  approval  and  prompt- 
ings, his  comforting  and  peace.  You  have  communed  with  him  at 
night  upon  your  bed;  you  have  been  in  the  dark  without,  yet  all 
was  light  within.  He  has  accompanied  you  upon  your  journey  and 
to  your  daily  task.  You  have  consulted  with  him  in  your  per- 
plexities and  he  has  shown  you  the  way  out.  You  have  been  just 
as  sure  of  his  leadings  as  though  he  worked  visibly  by  your 
side. 

When  Stephen  was  dying,  his  face  was  transfigured  and  he 
saw  heaven  open  before  him.    How  many  of  God's  saints  have 
departed  this  life  with  the  light  of  heaven  upon  their  faces,  a 
smile  lighting  up  the   countenance,  a  light  beaming  from  the  i 
eye  and  the  song  of  hallelujah  upon  the  lips!    They  have  felt  | 
God's  nearness  and  they  were  comforted.  | 

God  comforts  the  dying  saint  not  only  with  his  gracious  in-  = 
dwelling,  but  also  with  the  promises  of  his  Word.  What  makes 
death  terrible?  Sin!  But  what  comfort  to  hear  and  to  know: 
"Though  thy  sins  be  red  as  scarlet  I  will  wash  them  whiter  than 
wool";  ''the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanses  us  from 
all  sin";  ''Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  are  weary  and  heavy  laden 
and  I  will  give  you  rest." 

It  is  in  the  last  hour  that  Satan  makes  his  fiercest  attack.  He 
paints  sin  in  all  its  heinousness.  He  arouses  the  conscience;  he 
raises  doubts;  he  accuses  of  imaginary  crimes;  he  magnifies  faults 
and  decries  the  mercy  of  God. 

Now  I  know  why  the  dying  call  for  the  minister  of  the  Gospel 
and  welcome  him  to  their  bedside.  How  grateful  the  look,  how 
tender  the  pressure  of  the  hand  when  he  comes  and  how  con- 


COMFORT  IN  THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH      129 

soling  his  ministrations !  In  the  last  extremity  why  did  they  not 
call  for  a  banker,  a  lawyer,  a  merchant,  or  even  a  physician? 
Because  they  had  nothing  to  offer.  These  and  all  other  men  in 
their  callings  are  concerned  about  the  things  of  this  life.  But 
when  the  world  is  about  to  pass  awaj'"  for  such  a  one,  he  casts  an 
anxious  look  around  and  in  a  feeble  tone  he  says:  ''Call  the 
pastor."  There  is  not  a  moment  lost.  No  idle  questions  are 
asked  and  when  the  servant  of  God  appears  no  one  is  so  welcome 
as  he.  Some  one  says  with  a  tear-stained  voice:  ''Pastor,  we  are 
so  glad  that  you  have  come.  Father  has  called  for  you.  We  all 
need  you.  We  are  so  helpless  in  this  hour.  Come  into  the  death- 
chamber  and  pray  with  us  and  the  dying."  And  in  that  hour, 
never  to  be  forgotten,  there  was  the  adminstration  of  the  Sacra- 
ment and  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel.  Then  the  cross  was 
lifted  up  and  souls  huddled  beneath  it  and  as  the  water  and  the 
blood  trickled  down  there  came  unto  them  the  peace  of  God. 
There  was  another  grateful  look,  another  assuring  pressure  of 
the  hand,  and  then  for  a  moment  a  stillness — and  all  was  over. 
A  soul  plumed  itself  for  its  heavenward  flight.  Yes,  I  understand, 
why  the  dying  and  the  bereaved  call  for  the  pastor;  because  he 
comes  when  all  else  fails  and  he  comes  with  the  comforts  of  the 
Word  and  Sacraments.  Thanks  be  to  God  who  has  called  me  to 
this  ministration  of  comfort. 

If  you  want  God  to  be  with  you  in  death,  choose  him  in  life. 
It  is  possible  to  be  saved  "so  as  by  fire."  There  may  be  a  death- 
bed repentance  that  is  genuine,  but  will  you  chance  it?  Will  you 
be  without  him  now,  hoping  that  he  will  be  with  you  then? 
Will  you  spend  your  life  in  the  service  of  the  world  and  then 
come  and  offer  God  the  wreckage  of  a  misspent  life?  Live  close 
to  God.  Enjoy  his  presence  in  your  heart  every  day;  continually 
hear  his  comforting  message:  "Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee,"  and 
then  when  you  wade  into  the  cold  stream,  he  will  be  your  trusted 
companion  who  will  guide  you  to  the  heavenly  shore. 


;j^30  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

We  believe  that  our  departed  brother  set  out  on  this  last 
journey  with  one  companion.  As  he  led  the  life  that  is  hidden  in 
God,  we  comfort  ourselves  with  the  thought  that  he  is  now 
with  God.  May  God  comfort  you  all  and  be  with  you  now,  in 
death  and  in  eternity.  Amen. 


A   SOFT   AND    DOWNY   PILLOW   FOR    OUR   DYING   BED 
By  Rev.  R.  C.  H.  Lenski 

**I  will  "both  lay  me  down  in  peace,  and  sleep:  for  thou,  Lord,  only 
makest  me  dwell  in  safety." — Ps.  4:  8. 

Occasion:  For  an  elderly  lady  who  held  to  her  church  although 

she  received  no  encouragement  from  her  family,  and  sank 

into  a  condition  of  coma  before  her  end 

The  fourth  Psalm  has  frequently  been  called  the  Evening 
Psalm,  because  its  closing  verse  speaks  of  lying  down  in  peace 
and  sleeping  under  the  safe  protection  of  the  Lord.  David  of 
old,  the  writer  of  this  psalm,  did  not  always  lead  such  a  quiet 
life  that  when  the  evening  shadows  fell  he  could  lie  down  with 
no  danger  hovering  near  to  strike  him  in  the  dark.  In  his  ear- 
lier days  he  was  beset  with  enemies  threatening  his  life,  and  in 
after  years  there  were  times  of  real  danger  often  enough,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  common  ills  that  always  hover  over  us  as  we  pass 
through  this  life  so  full  of  trouble  and  affliction.  But  David  had 
found  a  soft  and  downy  pillow  to  rest  his  head  upon  when  night 
after  night  the  shadows  fell  like  a  curtain  around  him.  That 
pillow  he  calls  Peace.  ''I  will  lay  me  down  in  peace,  and  sleep." 
He  means  the  peace  of  the  soul,  the  safety  of  protection,  the  quiet 
rest  without  fear  of  uneasiness  which  God  provides  for  his  chil- 
dren. Ah,  blessed  the  sleeper  who  closes  his  eyes  night  after 
night — and  especially  also  the  last  night  of  life! — on  the  soft 
pillow  of  God-given  peace ! 

It  was  Jesus  himself  who  spoke  of  the  believer's  death  as  a 
sleep.   When  Lazarus  lay  a  corpse  in  Bethany,  Jesus  said,  *'Our 

131 


132 


FUNERAL    SEEMONS 


friend  Lazarus  sleepeth."  And  the  disciples  answered,  ''Lord,  if 
he  sleep,  he  shall  do  well"  (John  11:  11,  12).  The  apostles  of 
Jesus  retained  the  word.  St.  Paul  comforted  the  Thessalonians 
concerning  "them  which  are  asleep,"  that  they  should  not  sorrow 
even  as  others  did  who  had  no  hope.  A  blessed,  comforting  truth 
is  enclosed  in  that  one  word  ''sleep."  It  is  a  true  description  of 
the  Christian's  death.  As  the  shadow  of  the  end  sinks  down  over 
him,  he  does  exactly  what  David  did  night  after  night,  and 
what  every  trustful  Christian  does  again  and  again  when  the 
weary  body  needs  rest  at  evening  time — "I  will  both  lay  me 
down  in  peace,  and  sleep;  for  thou.  Lord,  only  makest  me  to 
dwell  in  safety."  He  pillows  his  head  in  God's  sweet  peace  and 
so  sleeps  calmly  and  safely  till  the  morning  light  of  the  blessed 
resurrection  awakens  him. 

So  lies  our  dear  departed  sister  now.  Years  ago  she  learned 
the  secret  of  peace  through  faith  in  Christ  her  Savior.  Alas,  she 
often  received  little  encouragement  from  those  about  her  in  hold- 
ing fast  to  this  peace.  And  there  was  plenty  of  affliction  during 
the  lengthening  years  to  test  her  fidelity  again  and  again.  But 
through  it  all,  often  indeed  in  great  weakness  and  with  much 
wavering,  she  maintained  her  faith  by  the  Savior's  help.  She 
knew  the  preciousness  of  God's  Word  and  Sacrament,  because 
there  the  peace  she  prized  could  be  found.  Often,  in  the  hours 
of  affliction  that  came  to  her,  she  crept  under  the  shadow  of 
God's  protection  and  help,  and  in  his  grace  found  the  comfort 
and  rest  of  peace.  When  at  last  the  stroke  fell  that  was  to  end 
her  life,  she  lay  down  in  peace  and  slept.  And  now  she  still 
sleeps,  in  God's  care,  and  the  pillow  of  Christian  peace  is  under 
her  head — soft,  restful,  and  delightful.  0  blessed  peace! — ^may 
it  be  yours  and  mine  beyond  a  doubt  when  night  falls  this  day 
and  every  day;  especially  when  that  night  comes  which  for  you 
and  me  shall  precede  the  eternal  dawn.   God  grant  us  all 


A    SOFT    AND    DO^NY    PILLOW  I33 

A  Soft  and  Downy  Pillow  for  Our  Dying  Bed 

What  Makes  this  Pillow  so  Delightful?  Our  text  gives  the 
answer  in  the  words  of  one  who  himself  lay  upon  it  and  felt  its 
delightfulness,  and  who  was  inspired  of  God  to  sing  of  it  that 
we  might  hear  of  it  and  share  his  experience.  Peace  and  safety 
make  the  soft  and  downy  pillow  for  your  dying  bed. 

That  is  far  more  than  the  outward  peace  of  the  body,  such 
as  when  one  goes  to  sleep  amid  loving  friends,  in  his  own  shel- 
tered home,  surrounded  by  every  bodily  comfort  and  luxury. 
That,  indeed,  is  delightful,  but  it  is  nothing  compared  with  the 
peace  and  safety  of  David's  pillow.  Bodily  ease  may  be  alto- 
gether absent,  and  yet  God's  peace  may  pillow  the  head.  There 
may  be  the  poorest  bed  of  poverty  to  lie  upon,  a  hot  and  fevered 
pillow  invaded  by  many  a  burning  pang,  a  lonely  couch  with  no 
loving  hand  to  smooth  the  pillow,  caress  the  brow,  and  moisten 
the  parched  lips.  Lazarus,  who  once  lay  helpless  at  the  rich 
man's  door,  surely  had  but  a  hovel  to  lie  in  when  he  lay  down 
for  his  last  sleep.  We  know  that  the  dogs  alone  showed  him  any 
signs  of  friendliness;  yet  he  had  the  pillow  of  David  for  his 
dying  head;  he  lay  down  in  true  peace,  and  the  Lord  made  him 
dwell  in  safety.  The  trouble  with  so  many  of  us  is,  that  we  are 
over-anxious  about  supplying  the  body  its  greatest  possible  ease, 
while  we  forget,  or  neglect  the  peace  of  the  soul  and  the  safety 
of  the  spirit  under  the  shadow  of  God's  grace.  The  rich  man  in 
the  parable  had  a  bed  of  luxury  to  lie  upon  and  friends  and  at- 
tendants in  abundance  about  him;  but  he  had  not  the  chief 
thing — that  soft  and  downy  pillow  in  which  the  beggar  Lazarus 
rejoiced. 

It  is  not  just  peace  of  mind  either  that  makes  the  pillow  soft 
and  downy.  There  are  many  satisfied  and  calm  enough  in  their 
way,  and  yet  have  never  tasted  of  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth 
all  understanding.   Can  you  think  of  anyone  more  contented  with 


134  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

himself  than  the  proud  Pharisee,  of  whom  Jesus  has  told  us, 
standing  in  the  temple  and  thanking  God  for  being  far  better  than 
other  people?  When  he  came  to  die  we  may  well  think  that  he 
had  no  fears  to  frighten  his  soul,  that  he  felt  so  sure  of  heaven 
that  he  could  die  with  a  smile  upon  his  face.  His  friends  of  like 
mind  could  comfort  him  by  bringing  to  his  remembrance  his 
fasting,  his  tithes,  and  his  alms.  And  being  a  descendant  of  Abra- 
ham, a  member  of  the  chosen  people  of  God,  he  could  surely  rest 
content — and  no  doubt  did.  But  alas,  all  this  self-made  peace 
of  the  haughty,  self-righteous  Pharisee  was  a  delusion  of  his 
own  mind.  It  was  like  the  feeling  of  satisfaction  in  thousands 
of  hearts  today,  when  night  after  night  they  lie  down  unworried 
and  undisturbed,  telling  themselves  they  are  rich  and  increased 
with  goods  and  have  need  of  nothing,  knowing  not  that  spiritually 
they  are  wretched  and  miserable  and  poor  and  blind  and  naked 
(Rev.  3:  17).  The  Word  of  God,  which  would  give  them  peace, 
they  will  not  hear  nor  accept;  and  so  they  go  on  making  a  false 
peace  for  themselves.  They  dream  that  all  is  well  with  them, 
and  listen  only  to  comforters  who  tell  them  the  old  Pharisaic 
lie  of  self-righteousness  in  some  form  or  another.  And  so  when 
their  last  night  comes,  they  lie  down  upon  the  treacherous  pil- 
low of  their  own  making,  and  close  their  eyes  in  apparent  peace, 
while  true  peace — of  which  Jesus  has  said:  ''My  peace  I  give 
unto  you:  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you;  let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid"  (John  14:  27) — is 
far  from  them.  If  I  knew  of  no  better  peace  than  this  I  would 
cry  aloud  to  you  in  despair  and  never  attempt  to  utter  a  word 
of  comfort,  for  I  would  have  none. 

David  had  learned  what  you  must  learn,  and  cannot  learn 
too  well;  that  the  only  peace  for  the  soul  is  God's  peace  which 
Cometh  from  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  When  this  is  yours  through 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  then,  and  then  only,  can  you  lie  down  in 
peace  and  sleep  in  safety. 


A    SOFT    AND    DOWNY    PILLOW  135 

As  long  as  our  sins  are  upon  us,  there  is  no  peace  and  safety 
for  us,  no  matter  how  well  our  bodies  may  rest  and  how  deeply 
our  minds  are  dulled  into  false  security.  Our  sins  are  like  a 
great  sharp  sword  hanging  over  our  heads,  and  death  is  like  a 
knife  reaching  out  to  cut  the  cord  in  order  that  the  sword  may 
fall  and  pierce  us  with  its  terrible  sharpness.  What  will  it  help 
you  to  close  your  eyes  against  this  sword  and  dream  that  it  is 
not  there?  Can  that  be  peace  and  safety?  Have  you  ever  read 
the  story  of  the  poor  victim  tied  fast  in  a  dismal  dungeon  with 
a  mighty  sharp-edged  knife  swinging  like  a  great  pendulum 
over  his  prostrate  body,  sinking  ever  lower  and  lower,  and  at 
last  beginning  to  cut  the  garments  of  his  body?  "What  peace 
could  that  captive  have  as  long  as  that  blade  swung  above  him? 
So  is  the  sin  that  stands  charged  against  us  at  the  throne  of 
God.  Day  by  day,  night  by  night  as  the  hour  of  death  comes 
nearer  and  nearer  the  moment  of  eternal  doom  approaches.  Oh, 
the  folly  to  close  our  eyes  in  false  security  and  futile  hope,  till 
it  is  too  late  for  us  to  escape!  Because  sin  is  such  a  horrible 
thing,  involving  eternal  destruction,  there  can  be  no  true  peace 
for  us  until  it  is  removed  altogether  and  all  the  deadly  danger 
that  lurks  in  it  is  forever  gone. 

For  David  it  was  gone,  and  so  he  could  sing  his  joyous  even- 
ing hymn:  "I  will  both  lay  me  down  in  peace,  and  sleep:  for 
thou.  Lord,  only  makest  me  to  dwell  in  safety,"  and  in  those 
sweet  words  of  the  23d  Psalm,  when  he  thinks  of  his  last  sleep 
on  earth:  ''Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  thou  art  with  me ;  thy  rod  and 
thy  staff,  they  comfort  me."  David  had  the  forgiveness  of  sin, 
and  so  he  had  peace.  Once  indeed  he  cried:  ''Day  and  night, 
O  God,  thy  hand  was  heavy  upon  me."  But  he  acknowledged 
his  sin,  and  hid  not  his  iniquity.  And  behold,  the  Lord  forgave 
the  iniquity  of  his  sin.  So  he  could  sleep  in  peace,  all  fears  for- 
ever gone,  and  the  pillow  under  his  head  soft  and  full  of  down. 


■^^Q  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

It  is  the  same  with  the  children  of  God  today.  Everyone  of  them 
has  had  a  true  vision  of  sin  which  is  worse  than  any  other  foe 
we  have.  Every  one  of  them  has  despaired  of  ever  escaping  it 
by  his  own  efforts.  How  shall  we  undo  what  we  once  did  against 
God  in  blindness  and  folly,  in  unbelief  and  wrong?  How  many 
days  and  hours  of  our  life  have  there  been  when  we  did  not  fear 
God,  love  him,  trust  in  him ;  when  we  followed  our  own  will  and 
disregarded  his  holy  and  righteous  will;  when  we  gave  him  no 
honor,  but  honored  ourselves ;  when  we  failed  to  love  our  fellow- 
men  as  God  had  bidden  us,  and  with  selfishness,  impurity,  deceit 
and  covetousness  sinned  against  man  and  equally  against  God? 
There  is  only  one  way  to  remove  all  this  threatening  horror, 
one  true  way  which  will  be  effective  and  give  us  real  peace 
and  safety.  God  himself  has  provided  it  when  he  sent  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ  to  our  rescue.  His  blood,  shed  in  sacrifice  for  us 
upon  the  cross,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.  Whosoever  trusts  in 
Christ  receives  pardon  for  his  sin  and  is  forever  safe.  The  moment 
Christ  is  ours,  our  sin  is  gone.  In  other  words,  the  moment  a  heart 
afraid  of  sin  turns  to  Christ  to  be  relieved  by  him,  its  hope  is 
fulfilled;  Christ  takes  the  sin  away,  and  bestows  upon  it  all  the 
fruits  of  his  saving  work.  With  Christ  every  poor  sinner  is  safe. 
Under  his  cross  we  find  peace,  and  there  is  no  other  place  where  it 
may  be  found.  ''Therefore  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  writes  the 
holy  apostle,  St.  Paul.  It  is  another  way  of  saying  what  David 
says:  "I  will  both  lay  me  down  and  sleep:  for  thou.  Lord,  makest 
me  dwell  in  safety."  With  the  pardon  of  Jesus  for  your  pillow 
there  will  be  no  thorns  or  terrors  to  disturb  you,  whether  you 
sleep  from  one  day  to  another  or  from  this  life  into  the  next. 
This  is  why  our  beloved  Gerhardt  sang: 

**Be  Thou  my  consolation 

And  shield,  when  I  must  die: 
Let  me  behold  Thy  passion, 


A   SOFT    AND    DOWNY    PILLOW  137 

When  my  last  hour  draws  nigh. 
My  dim  eyes  then  shall  see  Thee, 

Upon  Thy  cross  shall  dwell  j 
My  heart  by  faith  unfold  Thee — 

Who  dieth  thus,  dies  well!" 

And  now,  dear  mourning  friends,  as  you  look  once  more  upon 
this  sleeping  form  so  dear  to  you,  thank  God  that  he  gave  her 
that  last  best  gift  of  his,  a  soft  and  downy  pillow  for  her  final 
slumber,  soft  with  heavenly  pardon  and  forgiveness,  and  downy 
with  peace  and  safety  which  onl}''  such  a  pardon  brings.  Then 
think  of  yourselves — as  you  lie  down  tonight,  and  presently  for 
the  last  night.  Have  you  also  that  true  peace  of  soul  which  comes 
from  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ?  Do  not  rest  content  until  you  have, 
and  having  it,  let  its  delightfulness  continually  soothe  and  satisfy 
your  soul. 

There  is  something  more  to  be  said  here,  something  which 
thousands  have  found  true  by  their  own  fullest  experience  as 
they  rested  on  this  blessed  pillow.  Let  us  ask : 

How  Does  It  Feel  to  Lie  Upon  It? 

When  David  says,  ''I  will  lay  me  down  in  peace,"  we  must 
distinguish  two  things  in  the  word  peace.  One  we  have  already 
spoken  of,  namely,  the  establishment  of  peace  through  which 
God  by  his  own  gracious  act  makes  peace  with  us,  forgiving  us 
our  sins  for  Christ's  sake  and  receiving  us  as  his  own  dear  chil- 
dren. That  is  peace  as  a  sure  and  certain  fact;  it  is  the  pillow 
itself,  soft  and  downy,  upon  which  our  heads  are  to  rest.  Now 
comes  the  other  side  of  that  word  peace,  namely,  the  feeling  of 
peace,  as  it  sweetly  flows  through  our  souls.  When  peace  is 
really  established,  then  we  may  feel  at  peace,  and  our  feeling 
will  not  be  self-deception. 

To  be  sure,  disturbing  thoughts  will  sometimes  arise,  and  be- 
cause it  is  the  nature  of  feelings  to  fluctuate  more  or  less,  our 


138  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

feeling  of  peace  may  sometimes  decrease  or  vanish  altogether. 
The  thing  for  us  always  to  remember,  but  especially  when  our 
hearts  become  disturbed,  is  that  we  have  peace — we  have  it  in  a 
sacred  treasure  in  the  forgiveness  of  sin.  Therefore,  though 
we  may  not  always  feel  what  we  have,  or  feel  fully  its  sweetness 
and  joy,  yet  we  need  not  fear.  The  feeling  of  peace  is  bound  to 
come  back  when  the  peace  which  Christ  made  for  us  by  his  blood 
is  ours.  Does  the  memory  of  our  sins  disturb  us?  Were  our 
deeds  in  the  past  wicked  and  evil?  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ, 
God's  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.  "He  is  the  propitiation 
for  our  sins;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world"  (I  John  2:2).  As  we  look  upon  him  bleeding 
for  us  on  the  cross,  the  feeling  of  peace  fills  our  souls.  Ah,  it  is 
good  to  have  the  pillow  of  divine  pardon  to  rest  upon!  Does 
great  suffering,  pain,  affliction,  trouble,  distress,  misery  oppress 
us?  Does  it  seem  as  if  God  had  forsaken  us,  or  turned  against 
us?  Do  we  feel  that  peace  is  slipping  from  our  souls?  Look  at 
the  cross  again — all  our  sins  are  forgiven!  Therefore  God  does 
not  punish  us,  though  he  afflict  and  try  us.  All  his  promises  of 
help  and  support,  like  stars,  shine  the  brighter  for  the  darkness 
of  our  night  and  of  sorrow.  And  so  in  the  midst  of  our  troubles 
we  can  lie  down  and  sleep  in  peace.  God  is  only  trying  us:  his 
love  is  over  us — all  is  well.  Do  we  ever  feel  unworthy  of  the 
grace  of  God  and  all  his  love?  Does  our  faulty  condition  stand 
like  an  accusation  before  us?  Do  w^e  become  disheartened  as  we 
see  the  holiness  and  good  deeds  of  others,  besides  which  our  own 
works  are  so  small  and  insignificant  ?  The  publican  in  the  temple 
had  a  feeling  like  that  when  he  would  not  even  lift  up  his  eyes 
to  heaven,  but  smote  upon  his  breast  and  called  himself  a  sinner. 
God  resists  the  proud,  but  exalts  the  humble.  As  long  as  none 
of  us  are  received  by  God  for  our  good  works  and  great  deeds, 
but  only  as  repentant  sinners  for  the  sake  of  Christ's  deed,  you 
can  be  at  peace  in  all  your  humbleness.   Yes,  despair  of  yourself 


A   SOFT    AND    DOWNY    PILLOW  139 

and  hold  to  Christ.     Thank  God  for  him — and  sweet  peace  and 
assurance  will  flow  back  into  your  heart. 

Besides  the  feeling  of  peace,  there  will  be  the  feeling  of 
safety  as  we  lie  upon  the  soft  and  downy  pillow  of  David.  ''For 
thou,  Lord,  only  makest  me  to  dwell  in  safety."  Perhaps  they 
will  come — from  time  to  time — these  foes  that  threaten  every 
child  of  God,  and  endeavor  to  affright  us:  the  devil,  the  world, 
and  the  flesh.   What  did  Luther  sing? 

**  Though  devils  all  the  world  should  fill, 

All  watching  to  devour  us, 
We  tremble  not,  we  fear  no  ill. 

They  cannot  overpower  us. 
This  world's  prince  may  still 
Scowl  fierce  as  he  will, 
He  can  harm  us  none. 
For  he  is  judged — undone; 

One  little  word  overthrows  him." 

So  sang  another  of  God's  children  and  pointed  to  the  soft  pillow 
of  safety  which  the  foe  is  unable  to  take  from  us : 

"And  where  no  harms,  or  dire  alarms 
Their  cares  to  me  impart. 
Hard  by  the  cross  let  me  recline 
And  rest  O  Christ,  on  this: 
That  thou  art  mine,  and  I  am  thine— 
Thy  will  is  me  to  bless." 

''In  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors  through  him 
that  loved  us,"  exclaimed  St.  Paul.  "For  I  am  persuaded  that 
neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers, 
nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from 
the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord"  (Rom.  8: 
38,  39).  What  a  blessed  thing  to  be  safe,  and  then  to  feel  safe! 
But  remember  that  all  this  has  its  comforting  significance 
not  only  for  this  life,  but  also  for  the  approach  and  hour  of  death. 


l^Q  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

As  we  look  forward  to  our  last  hour,  this  sure  and  certain  ex- 
pectation of  peace  and  safety  fills  us — and  must  fill  us — with 
hope.  No  man  knows  just  how  he  will  die.  Will  the  grim  foe 
come  upon  us  suddenly  and  bear  us  away  in  a  moment?  Shall 
we  lie  long  and  suffer  much?  Shall  we  be  alone,  far  from  home 
and  friends,  or  in  our  own  beds  with  gentle  hands  to  minister 
unto  us  ?  No  matter :  for  everyone  who  is  Christ 's  own  there  will 
be  that  soft  and  downy  pillow  of  peace  and  safety,  and  so  we 
need  not  fear.  Our  hearts  may  be  filled  with  deep,  satisfying, 
blissful  hope.  Paul  wrote:  "We  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of 
God  .  .  .  knowing  that  tribulation  worketh  patience;  and 
patience,  experience ;  and  experience,  hope ;  and  hope  maketh  not 
ashamed"  (Rom.  5:  2-5).  God  will  shape  our  ends,  and,  as  we 
lie  down  to  our  last  rest — wherever  and  whenever  that  will  be — 
all  will  be  well  with  us  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  blessedness  indeed  to 
feel  this  hope  that  maketh  not  ashamed. 

Peace,  safety,  hope — God  gave  our  sleeping  sister  a  measure 
of  these  delightful  feelings.  She  now  rests  in  peace,  pillowed  in 
safety  for  her  last  slumber,  and  her  soul  is  already  tasting  the 
eternal  fulfillment  of  hope.  And  you,  my  mourning  friends,  would 
you  have  these  feelings  too  and  know  all  the  blessedness  of  them  ? 
— then  learn  the  divine  secret  that  will  give  them  to  jon.  Find  in 
Jesus  that  soft  and  downy  pillow  for  your  head  of  which  King 
David  sang.  Take  peace  and  pardon  from  his  pierced  hands. 
Then  will  you  lie  down  in  peace  and  sleep,  for  the  Lord  will  make 
you  dwell  in  safety.  Amen. 


A   PRAYER   AND    A    PROMISE    FOR    OLD    AGE 
By  Rev.  J.  Sittler 

**Cast  me  not  off  in  the  time  of  old  age;  forsake  me  not  when  my 
strength  faileth." — Psalm  71:  9. 

"Even  to  your  old  age  I  am  he;  and  even  to  hoar  hairs  will  I  carry 
you:  I  have  made,  and  I  will  bear;  even  I  will  carry,  and  will  deliver 
you." — Isaiah  46:  4. 

Occasion:  For  an  Aged  Christian 

Beloved  in  Christ: 

In  the  life  of  everyone  there  are  times  and  seasons  for  special 
prayer.  Such  a  time  is  the  morning  of  life,  the  time  of  youth, 
when  foundations  for  time  and  eternity  are  laid  and  the  choice 
of  life's  work  and  meaning  confront  us,  when  many  and  peculiar 
temptations  assail  us.  Such  a  time  is  the  noonday  of  life,  man- 
hood's and  womanhood's  estate  when,  in  the  midst  of  life's  toil 
and  trials  we  often  feel  the  need  of  a  guiding  Presence  and  a 
sustaining  hand.  Such  a  time,  too,  is  the  evening  of  life,  the  time 
of  old  age  when,  life's  work  almost  done,  we  are  "waiting,  only 
waiting,  till  the  shadows  are  a  little  longer  grown,"  waiting  for 
the  great  change  and  the  end.  King  David  is  looking  forward 
to  the  time  of  old  age.  He  feels  that  he  will  then  need  the  Lord 
in  a  special  way  and  he  prays:  ''Cast  me  not  off  in  the  time  of 
old  age;  forsake  me  not  when  my  strength  faileth." 

Let  us  reflect  for  a  moment  on  the  appropriateness  of  this 
prayer.  In  old  age  strength  fails.  The  physical  strength  and 
energy  of  former  days  are  gone.  Weakness,  feebleness,  and  de- 
cline belong  to  old  age.  The  roses  fade  from  the  cheeks,  and 
time  and  trouble  leave  their  unmistakable  traces  in  the  furrowed 

141 


142  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

face  and  the  stooped  form.  After  all,  there  are  none  of  us  with 
whom  time  deals  as  kindly  as  with  Moses,  of  whom  it  was  said : 
''and  he  was  an  hundred  and  twenty  years  old  when  he  died  and 
his  eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natural  force  abated."  One  of  the 
_firgt  and  most  disheartening  discoveries  of  approaching^  old  age 
is  failing  strengtkAnd  as  the  years  drag  slowly  on,  disease 
fastens  itself  more  securely  on  enfeebled  bodies,  and  the  hours 
and  the  days  of  bodily  suffering  grow  longer  and  more  severe. 
It  is  then  that  we  realize  the  appropriateness  of  the  psalmist's 
prayer:  "Forsake  me  not  when  my  strength  faileth." 

Now,  because  of  failing  strength  and  the  infirmities  of  old 
age,  we  also  no  long;er  find  delight  in  the  pleasures  a,nd  pursuits 
of  the  world.  The  days  come  when  we  say,  ''I  have  no  pleasure 
in  them."  For  the  young,  the  strong,  the  well,  the  world  can 
supply  many  pleasures  and  pastimes.  But  there  comes  a  time 
when  men  see  the  nothingness  and  emptiness  of  all  earthly  things ; 
when  they  no  longer  care  to  "grovel  here  below,  fond  of  these 
earthly  toys ' ' ;  when  the  world  no  longer  satisfies ;  when  the  real 
character  of  a  selfish  life  of  pleasure  becomes  apparent. 

"When^that  time  of  disillusionment  comes,  and  comeitmust,. 
what  if  men  have  nothing  to  take  the  place  of  these  vanishing 
things?  WhaFthen?  Then  inevitably  comes  dissatisfied  and  un- 
happy old  age.  God,  in  mercy,  spare  us  from  that  and  hear  our 
prayer:  "Forsake  me  not  when  my  strength  faileth." 

David  had,  doubtless,  seen  and  observed  the  miseries  of  a 
godless  old  age.  He  knew  some  cast-offs,  and  their  pitiable  con- 
dition leads  him  to  pray:  "Cast  me  not  off  in  the  time  of  old 
age";  ami  another  time_Ji^ejgleads :  "Now  therefore  when  I  am 
old_and  gray;4ieaded,  0  God.  forsak^m^notT"  Old  age  is,  more 
or  less,  jorsaken._The  friends  of  former  days  often  grow  cold 
and  indifferent.  One  by  one  they  lay  down  their  burden  to  join 
the_sileuMiLajority ;  and  a  feeling  of  loneliness  steals  into  the 
hearts  of  the  old  that  are  left  behind.    Father  and  mother  are 


PRAYER  AND  PROMISE  FOR  OLD  AGE    143 

long  since  gone:  children,  if  there  are  any,  have  all  left  the 
parental  roof,  and  even  they  ofttimes  show  an  inclination  to 
forget.  In  many  cases  the  dear  life  companion  has  been  laid 
away,  and  one  or  the  other  remains  alone.  Old  friends  are  get- 
ting fewer  and  there  is  little  opportunity  and  inclination  to  make 


new  ones. 


As  long  as  we  are  surrounded  by  friends  and  gay  companions, 
we^can  managers^omehowTTo  get  along  without  God.  Many  are 
doing  that.  But  friendless,  godless  old  age^-what  a  wretched 
condition!  Ah,  how  cruel  the  world  is!  It  beckons  you  on  and 
on,  away  from  all  that  is  true  and  lasting  and  then,  when  your 
step  becomes  slow  and  halting,  and  your  strength  fails,  it  casts 
you  off!  The  world  soon  makes  you  feel  that  you  are  old  and 
that  it  is  done  with  you.   Are  you  going  to  trust  the  world  then? 

Another  trial  of  old  age  lies  in  the  feeling  that  one  is  com- 
paratively  useless  and  a  consequent  enforced  period  of  leisure. 
To  one  who  has  led  an  active  and  busy  life  it  is  hard  to  sit  still 
and  see  another  take  his  place  and  do  his  work.  We  still  have 
the  ambition,  but  not  the  strength.  We  are  still  willing,  but  the 
world  does  not  seem  to  need  us.  What  a  strange  sensation  it  is, 
the  first  time  it  really  dawns  upon  us  that  the  world  regards  us 
old  and  is  going  to  get  along  without  us !  It  is  like  a  shock  from 
a  battery.  And  there  come  those  long  periods  of  enforcedjejsure 
— the  silent  watches  in  the  ni gh t ;  hou rs  t:0 Jb e_ jpfiiit,&itlingjn^_an 
armchair — just  thinking,  thinking — what?  And  what  reflections 
mu^  come  then !  Many  have  no~time  in  their  active,  working  days 
for  serious  reflection — too  busy,  no  time,  no  convenient  season! 
But  in  old  age  meditation  and  reflection  are  often  forced  upon  us. 
We  see  the  past — oh,  the  unforgiving  past !  How  different  we 
wish  much  of  it  had  been!  We  look  into  the  future — before  us 
the  yawning  grave  and  a  long  eternity,  both  as^ingjmighty_ ques- 
tions _of_us^  God  pity  a  godless  old  age!  How  sad,^  indeed,  is  old 
age  without  a  Savior;  earthly  props  failing  and  no  everlasting 


144 


FUNERAL    SERMONS 


arm  to  lean  on;  forced  to  leave  this  world  and  no  sure  hope  of 
heaven.  All  of  us,  and  especially  you  old  men  and  women,  have 
need  to  pray  the  prayer  for  old  age :  ' '  Cast  me  not  off  in  the 
time  of  old  age,  forsake  me  not  when  my  strength  faileth." 

And  this  your  prayer  shall  not  be  in  vain.  God  has  given  to 
old  age  a  wonderful  promise.  This  is  his  promise :  ' '  Even  to  old 
age  I  am  he;  and  even  to  hoar  hairs  will  I  carry  yoji.  I  have 
made,  and  I  willJb£/^T;  eveu-J_will  carry,  and  will  deliver  you/' 
Old  age  needs,  above  all,  a  loving  Savior  and  a  mighty  God.  And 
these  are  promised:  ''Even  to  your  old  age  I  am  he."  In  the 
light  of  this  Scripture  promise  we  can  face  the  time  of  old  age 
with  a  glad,  expectant  heart.  Let  old  age  come:  for  in  failing 
health  and  waning  strength  we  trust  in  him,  whose  help  and 
strength  never  fail,  and  who  is  especially  near  to  those  who 
are  bowed  down  by  the  weight  of  years.  Trusting  him,  we  can 
say  with  the  psalmist :  ' '  Why  art  thou  cast  down,  0  my  soul ! 
And  why  art  thou  disquieted  within  me?  hope  thou  in  God:  for 
I  shall  yet  praise  him  who  is  the  health  of  my  countenance  and 
my  God."  In  this  glorious  Scripture  promise  for  old  a^e,J]i£re 
^  arejthr£e_:words  whose  wonderful  import  and  meaning  corre- 
spond strikingly  to  the  needs  of  old  age.  Says  the  Lord:  "_I_will 
^elbrer" — "I  will  bcjir" — and  twice  Ee  repeats — "I  will  carry 
you."  Are  not  these  just  the  needs  of  old  age  with  its  failing 
strength  ? 

Having  the  promise  of^od  let  the  world  and  worldly  pleasure 
go.  Godly  old  age  has  its  compensations.  True,  some  of_the 
pleasures  of J^^onth . are^orever  gone,  many  of  earth's  legitimate 
joys  no  longer  lure  us ;  but  there  comes,  in  place  of  these  things 
that  have  vanished,  a  new  pleasure^  and  a  new  joy,  that^o^ipe 
^pirHual^  meditation  and  contemplation  that  are_gossible„jQiily 
for_old  age.  And  a  mighty  expectation  and  a  great  longing  take 
possession  of  the  soul  as  it  contemplates  "the  things  that  God  has 


PRAYER  AND  PROMISE  FOR  OLD  AGE    145 

prepared  for  those  that  love  him,"  whose  full  enjoyment  can 
now  not  much  longer  be  delayed. 

'  ''Eyes  that  grow  dim  to  the  earth  and  its  glory 
'  See  but  the  brighter,  the  heavenly  glow; 

Ears  that  are  dull  to  the  world  and  its  story 
Drink  in  the  songs  that  from  Paradise  flow. 
\  All  the  rich  recompense  youth  cannot  know.'* 

Having  God  and  his  promises  for  our  portion,  let  friends  grow 
•ew  and  cold;  there  remains  one  Friend  whoneyer  fail_s  us — *'a 


friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother, ' '  who  has  said:  '^Lo, 
1  am~witJi  you  always  "even  unto  the  end."  Of  him  we  sing: 

''What  a  Friend  we  have  in  Jesus, 
All  our  sins  and  griefs  to  bear! 
What  a  privilege  to  carry 
Everything  to  God  in  prayer. 

"Do  thy  friends  despise,  forsake  theef 
Take  it  to  the  Lord  in  prayer, 
In  his  arms  he'll  take  and  shield  thee, 
Thou  shalt  find  a  solace  there." 

How  beautiful  and  happy,  then,  in  old  age  when  cheered  by  the 
presence  and  the  promise  of  the  Savior. 

Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon  met  an  old  man  one  day  going  to  the  place 
of  prayer  with  a  song  on  his  lips. 

"Aged  friend,"  he  said,  ''how  is  it  that  an  old  man  is  so  happy 
and  cheerful?" 

''Because  I  belong  to  the  Lord." 

"Are  no  others  happy  at  your  time  of  life?" 

"No,  not  one,"  said  he;  and  his  form  straightened  and  his 
countenance  glowed.  "Listen,  please,  to  the  truth  from  one  who 
knows ;  then  tell  it  everywhere,  and  no  old  man  can  be  found  to 
gainsay  it — 'the  devil  has  no  happy  old  men.'  " 


146  FUNERAL    SERMONS 

K_thiaJifi_Jin3^_i]ie  first^jcpn^^^  a  happy  old  age  is  to 

know  Jesus  Christ.  Then  our  contemplation  of  sin  and  death  and 
the  judgment  cannot  affright;  for  we  behold  the  Lamb  of  God 
which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world;  and  ''there  is  nowjno 
condemnation_jo  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus^lL  He  has  risen 
triumphantly  from  the  dead  and  said:  ''He  that  believeth  in  me 
even  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live;  and  whosoever 
liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die."  So  we  exult:  "0 
death,  where  is  thy  sting?   0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?" 

Now,  the  way  to  have  a  happy  and  blessed  old  age  therefore 
jsj_to  believe  Jn  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ_^The^  time  to 
get  ready  and  to  lay  foundation  for  old  age  is  now,  in  our  younger 
years.  Old  age^js  harvest  time.  At  harvest  time  you  ^eap_iii§.t 
what  you  sow:  "Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall_h^..also 
reap^  For  he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  cor- 
ruption^  but  he  that  soweth^  to  the  Spirit,  shall  of  the_^pirit  reaj) 
lile_  everlasting. "  Without  Jesus  Christ,  no  life  is  complete. 
Without  him,  the  thought  of  old  age  must  sadden  and  depress 
us.  But  how  beautiful  is  old  age  cheered  by  the  presence  of 
Jesus !  Grateful  for  the  jnercies  of  the  past,  it  trusts  him  with 
the  future.  The  coming  days  are  not  filled  with  gloom  and  dark 
visions  of  helplessness  and  hopelessness :  for  we  realize  that  more 
and  more  the  earthly  shall  disappear  out  of  our  lives,  and  more 
and  more  the  heavenly  shall  come  in  until  at  length  we  shall 
awake  in  his  likeness  and  be  satisfied.  And  for  those  that  love 
jiim  the  Lord  jlways^Jiaa-^mng.  work  to  do.  It  is  even  so  with  old 
age.  We^n  still  pray  and  nothing  js_more  needed  in  this^  world 
than  prayer.  We  can  praise  God  and,Jifi__never  wearies  of_  that. 
We  can  talk  of  his  goodness  and  of  his  mercy  to  the  sons  of  men. 
StandingjiLJth^._shadow_of_^  the 

way Jto^  many  wayfarers.  We  can  be  examples  of  Christlike  liv- 
ing, of  patience,  of  cheerfulness,  of  hope  and  trust.  Yes,  even 
old  age,  if  it  be  godly,  has  a  mission  and  a  message  for  the  world. 


PRAYER  AND  PROMISE  FOR  OLD  AGE    147 

It  has  its  compensations,  its  peculiar  pleasures  and  experiences 
that  come  at  no  other  time  of  life.  And  may  God  abundantly 
fulfil  in  all  who  pray  the  prayer  of  old  age  his  wonderful  promise ; 
so  that  w^e  may  walk  towards  the  westering  sun,  unafraid  with  a 
glad  heart,  knowing  that  beyond  the  setting  of  earth's  sun  dawns 
the  eternal  morning.   Amen. 


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